US20220210299A1 - Reflective module assembly and camera module including the same - Google Patents
Reflective module assembly and camera module including the same Download PDFInfo
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- US20220210299A1 US20220210299A1 US17/530,700 US202117530700A US2022210299A1 US 20220210299 A1 US20220210299 A1 US 20220210299A1 US 202117530700 A US202117530700 A US 202117530700A US 2022210299 A1 US2022210299 A1 US 2022210299A1
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Classifications
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- H04N5/2254—
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
- G03B13/00—Viewfinders; Focusing aids for cameras; Means for focusing for cameras; Autofocus systems for cameras
- G03B13/32—Means for focusing
- G03B13/34—Power focusing
- G03B13/36—Autofocus systems
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
- H04N23/50—Constructional details
- H04N23/55—Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B7/00—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements
- G02B7/02—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for lenses
- G02B7/04—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for lenses with mechanism for focusing or varying magnification
- G02B7/09—Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for lenses with mechanism for focusing or varying magnification adapted for automatic focusing or varying magnification
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
- G03B17/00—Details of cameras or camera bodies; Accessories therefor
- G03B17/02—Bodies
- G03B17/17—Bodies with reflectors arranged in beam forming the photographic image, e.g. for reducing dimensions of camera
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
- G03B30/00—Camera modules comprising integrated lens units and imaging units, specially adapted for being embedded in other devices, e.g. mobile phones or vehicles
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03B—APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OR FOR PROJECTING OR VIEWING THEM; APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENTS EMPLOYING ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
- G03B5/00—Adjustment of optical system relative to image or object surface other than for focusing
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
- H04N23/50—Constructional details
- H04N23/51—Housings
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
- H04N23/50—Constructional details
- H04N23/54—Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils
-
- H04N5/2252—
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- H04N5/2253—
Definitions
- the present disclosure relates to a reflective module assembly and a camera module including the same.
- Camera modules may be installed in portable electronic devices such as tablet personal computers (PCs), laptop PCs, and the like, as well as in smartphones.
- An autofocusing (AF) function, an optical image stabilization (OIS) function, a zoom function, and the like, may be implemented in camera modules for mobile terminals.
- a camera module may be provided with an actuator, directly moving a lens module, or indirectly moving a reflective module including a reflective member, to correct shake.
- an actuator may move a lens module or a reflective module in a direction, intersecting an optical axis, with driving force generated by a magnet and a coil.
- a reflective module assembly includes a housing having an internal space, a first reflective module disposed in the housing configured to change a path of incident light, and a second reflective module disposed in the housing configured to change a path of light emitted from the first reflective module.
- the first reflective module includes a first reflective member rotatable about a first axis formed by at least two first ball members.
- the second reflective module includes a second reflective member rotatable about a second axis, perpendicular to the first axis and passing through a rotation axis ball disposed at the second reflective module.
- the first reflective module may include a first holder and the first reflective member may be disposed on the first holder.
- the at least two first ball members may be disposed between the first holder and the housing to rotatably support the first holder about the first axis.
- the second reflective module may include a second holder and the second reflective member may be disposed on the second holder.
- the rotation axis ball may be disposed between the second holder and the housing to rotatably support the second holder about the second axis.
- the housing may include a first support portion.
- the first holder may include a second support portion disposed on both side portions of the first holder in a direction of the first axis and disposed to face the first support portion.
- the at least two first ball members may be disposed between the first support portion and the second support portion to rotatably support the first holder.
- the first support portion may include a first guide portion supporting the at least two first ball members.
- the second support portion may include a second guide portion supporting the at least two first ball members in a position facing the first guide portion. At least one of the first guide portion and the second guide portion may be provided with an internal wall inclined to support the at least two first ball members at three or more points.
- the housing may include a third guide portion supporting the rotation axis ball.
- the second holder may include a fourth guide portion supporting the rotation axis ball in a position facing the third guide portion.
- At least one of the third guide portion and the fourth guide portion may include an internal wall inclined to support the rotation axis ball at three or more points.
- the second reflective module may include guide balls disposed between the housing and the second holder to guide rotation of the second holder.
- the housing may include a fifth guide portion supporting the guide balls.
- the second holder may include a sixth guide portion supporting the guide balls in a position facing the fifth guide portion.
- the guide balls may move in a rolling motion in at least one of the fifth guide portion and the sixth guide portion to guide rotation of the second holder.
- At least one of the fifth guide portion and the sixth guide portion may have a shape of an arc corresponding to a rotation path of the second holder.
- At least one of the fifth guide portion and the sixth guide portion may have an internal wall inclined to support the guide balls at two or more points.
- a first magnet may be disposed on both side surfaces of the first holder in a direction of the first axis.
- a first coil may be disposed on an internal sidewall of the housing facing the first magnet, and the first holder may be configured to be rotated about the first axis by an interaction of the first magnet and the first coil.
- a second magnet may be disposed on one surface of the second holder.
- At least one second coil may be disposed on a lower surface of the housing facing the second magnet, and the second holder may be configured to be rotated about the second axis by an interaction between the second magnet and the second coil.
- the second magnet may include one or more N-poles and one or more S-poles alternately magnetized in a rotational direction of the second holder.
- the reflective module assembly may further include a blocking member disposed between the first reflective module and the second reflective module to block a portion of incident light.
- a reflective module assembly in another general aspect, includes a first reflective member rotatable about a first axis and configured to change a path of incident light, and a second reflective member rotatable about a second axis and configured to change a path of light emitted from the first reflective member.
- the first reflective member is supported by first spheres forming the first axis
- the second reflective member is supported by second spheres forming the second axis.
- the number of the first spheres, forming the first axis is different from the number of the second spheres forming the second axis.
- a camera module may include the reflective module assembly, a lens module comprising a plurality of lenses and configured to allow light, emitted from the second reflective member, to pass therethrough, and an image sensor on which the light passed through the lens module is incident.
- the first axis may be parallel to an optical axis of the lens module, and the second axis may intersect the optical axis of the lens module.
- a reflective module assembly in another general aspect, includes a housing, a first reflective member disposed in the housing and rotatable about a first axis, and a second reflective member disposed in the housing and configured to change a path of light emitted from the first reflective member and rotatable about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, wherein the first reflective member and the second reflective member are supported in the housing in a direction parallel to the second axis on a same inside surface of the housing.
- Two or more first ball members may form the first axis, and the second axis may pass through a rotation axis ball.
- the first reflective member may be disposed in a first holder including a second support portion disposed on both side portions of the first holder in a direction of the first axis and disposed to face the first support portion.
- the two or more first ball members may be disposed between the first support portion and the second support portion to rotatably support the first holder.
- a camera module may include the reflective module assembly, a lens module comprising a plurality of lenses and configured to receive light emitted from the second reflective member, and an image sensor configured to receive light emitted from the lens module and convert the received light into an electrical signal.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable electronic device according to one or more embodiments.
- FIG. 2 is a reference view illustrating an example of an image capturing field of view of a plurality of camera modules installed in a portable electronic device according to one or more embodiments.
- FIG. 3 is a reference view illustrating screen captures from a plurality of camera modules installed in a portable electronic device according to one or more embodiments.
- FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a camera module according to one or more embodiments.
- FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a camera module according to one or more embodiments.
- FIGS. 6A and 6B are exploded perspective views of a first reflective module according to one or more embodiments.
- FIGS. 6C to 6E are cross-sectional views of the first reflective module according to one or more embodiments.
- FIGS. 7A and 7B are reference views illustrating an example in which a ball member of a reflective module assembly according to one or more embodiments is fixed to support three points thereof on a guide portion.
- FIGS. 8A and 8B are exploded perspective views of a second reflective module according to one or more embodiments.
- FIGS. 8C to 8E are schematic plan views illustrating a state in which a second reflective module is coupled to a housing of a camera module including a reflective module assembly, according to one or more embodiments.
- FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a second reflective module is coupled to a housing of a reflective module assembly.
- FIG. 10A is a top view illustrating the inside of a housing in a state in which some components of a first reflective module and a second module are omitted in a camera module according to one or more embodiments.
- FIG. 10B is a bottom view of a housing of a camera module according to one or more embodiments.
- FIG. 11 is a reference view illustrating an overall height of a camera module according to one or more embodiments.
- FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a lens module according to one or more embodiments.
- the term “and/or” includes any one and any combination of any two or more of the associated listed items; likewise, “at least one of” includes any one and any combination of any two or more of the associated listed items.
- first,” “second,” and “third” may be used herein to describe various members, components, regions, layers, or sections, these members, components, regions, layers, or sections are not to be limited by these terms. Rather, these terms are only used to distinguish one member, component, region, layer, or section from another member, component, region, layer, or section. Thus, a first member, component, region, layer, or section referred to in examples described herein may also be referred to as a second member, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the examples.
- spatially relative terms such as “above,” “upper,” “below,” “lower,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the figures. Such spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, an element described as being “above,” or “upper” relative to another element would then be “below,” or “lower” relative to the other element. Thus, the term “above” encompasses both the above and below orientations depending on the spatial orientation of the device.
- the device may also be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations), and the spatially relative terms used herein are to be interpreted accordingly.
- An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a reflective module assembly, which may easily correct user hand-shake during still image capturing or video capturing, and a camera module including the same.
- Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a reflective module assembly, which may track a moving subject and may correct shake, and a camera module including the same.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable electronic device 1 according to one or more embodiments.
- the portable electronic device 1 may be a mobile communications terminal, a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), or the like.
- one or more camera modules 500 and 1000 may be mounted in the portable electronic device 1 to capture a subject.
- the portable electronic device may include a first camera module 1000 and a second camera module 500 .
- a plurality of camera modules may be disposed on some surfaces of a portable electronic device in various manners.
- the first camera module 1000 and the second camera module 500 may be sequentially disposed on one surface of the portable electronic device 1 in a width direction (a relatively short side direction).
- the first camera module 1000 and the second camera module 500 may be sequentially disposed in a length direction (a relatively long side direction) of the portable electronic device 1 .
- incident holes through which light is incident on the two or more camera modules 500 and 1000 may be disposed as close to each other as possible.
- FIG. 2 is a reference view illustrating an example of an image capturing field of view of a plurality of camera modules 500 and 1000 installed in a portable electronic device according to one or more embodiments.
- a first camera module 1000 and a second camera module 500 may be configured to have different fields of view.
- the first camera module 1000 illustrated in the right drawing of FIG. 2 may be configured to have a relatively narrow field of view (for example, a telephoto camera), and the second camera module 500 illustrated in the left drawing of FIG. 2 may be configured to have a relatively wide field of view (for example, a wide-angle camera).
- the first camera module 1000 may correspond to a camera module to be described later with reference to FIGS. 4 to 11 .
- a field of view ⁇ 1 of the first camera module 1000 may be within a range of 9° to 35°
- a field of view ⁇ 2 of the second camera module 500 may be within a range of 60° to 120°.
- the fields of view of the two camera modules may be designed to be different from each other, so that an image of a subject may be captured with various fields of view.
- the portable electronic device 1 may have a picture-in-picture (PIP) function.
- the portable electronic device 1 may display an image, captured by a camera module having a narrower field of view (for example, the first camera module 1000 ), in a region of an image captured by a camera module having a wider field of view (for example, the second camera module 500 ).
- a subject of interest may be captured with a narrow field of view (resulting in an effect of magnifying the subject of interest), and may then be displayed in an image captured with a wide field of view.
- a camera module having a narrower field of view may include a reflective module (a folded module) rotated to capture a video along the movement of the subject of interest. Accordingly, light incident on the first camera module 1000 may be reflected by a reflective member of the reflective module, and the reflected light may be incident on a lens module after an optical path is changed.
- the first camera module 1000 may rotatably move the reflection module to track the movement of the subject of interest.
- the reflection module provided in the first camera module 1000 may be rotated about a first axis (for example, a Z-axis) or a second axis (for example, a Y-axis). Accordingly, the first camera module 1000 may correct shake which may occur during video capturing.
- the first axis (the Z-axis) and the second axis (the Y-axis) may refer to axes perpendicular to each other.
- FIG. 3 is a reference view illustrating screen captures from a plurality of camera modules installed in a portable electronic device according to one or more embodiments.
- the first camera module ( 1000 of FIG. 1 ) and the second camera module ( 500 of FIG. 1 ), installed in the portable electronic device ( 1 of FIG. 1 ) may be different in range of capturable regions.
- the second camera module ( 500 of FIG. 1 ) having a relatively wide field of view may capture a subject having a relatively large area
- the first camera module ( 1000 of FIG. 1 ) having a relatively narrow field of view may capture a subject having a relatively small area.
- the first camera module ( 1000 of FIG. 1 ) may capture an internal region having a wide image capturing range W, captured by the second camera module ( 500 of FIG. 1 ), in tele-image capturing ranges T 1 to T 9 .
- the first camera module ( 1000 of FIG. 1 ) may image a portion of an internal region of the wide image capturing range W to overlap an outside within the tele-image capturing ranges T 1 to T 9 , or may image an external region of the wide image capturing range W.
- the first camera module ( 1000 of FIG. 1 ) is provided with a plurality of reflective modules (folded modules) rotating about the first axis (the Z-axis) or the second axis (the Y-axis) to change a path of incident light. Therefore, an image capturing angle of an image (video), captured by the first camera module ( 1000 of FIG. 1 ), may be changed by rotation of a plurality of reflective modules about the first axis (the Z-axis) or the second axis (the Y-axis) to distort the captured image. For example, among the tele-image capturing ranges T 1 to T 9 , illustrated in the reference view of FIG.
- T 1 to T 4 and T 6 to T 9 represent the case in which an image is distorted by rotation of a reflective module.
- the camera module ( 500 or 1000 of FIG. 1 ) or a portable electronic device may correct at least one of the tele-image capturing ranges T 1 to T 9 , imaged by the first camera module ( 1000 of FIG. 1 ), to convert the captured image into a distortion-free normal image.
- the camera module ( 500 or 1000 of FIG. 1 ) or the portable electronic device may correct an image within T 1 to T 4 or T 6 to T 9 , captured by the first camera module ( 1000 of FIG. 1 ), into an image having a rectangular shape, such as an image of T 5 .
- Such a correction may include image cropping or rectification using software.
- the camera module ( 500 or 1000 of FIG. 1 ) or the portable electronic device may include a controller for editing or correcting an image.
- the first camera module ( 1000 of FIG. 1 ) may include at least one reflective module assembly, and the reflective module assembly may include two or more reflective modules.
- FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a camera module 1000 including a reflective module assembly according to one or more embodiments
- FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the camera module 1000 including a reflective module assembly according to one or more embodiments.
- the ‘camera module 1000 ’ refers to the first camera module ( 1000 of FIG. 1 ) described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 , unless otherwise specified.
- the ‘camera module 1000 ’ refers to a camera module including a reflective module assembly according to one or more embodiments, unless otherwise specified.
- the camera module 1000 may include at least one reflective module assembly, a lens module 1500 , and an image sensor unit 1900 .
- the reflective module assembly may include a plurality of reflective modules (folded modules) 1200 and 1300 .
- the camera module 1000 is illustrated as having an integrated housing, but this is only an example and an entire camera module 1000 may be manufactured by coupling a sub-housing, in which a lens module (for example, 1500 of FIG. 5 ) and an image sensor unit (for example, 1900 of FIG. 5 ) are mounted, and a reflective module assembly according to embodiments (for example, a reflective assembly module including 1200 and 1300 of FIG. 5 ) to each other.
- the camera module 1000 may be manufactured by coupling the lens module 1500 and the image sensor unit 1900 to the reflective module assembly according to the embodiments. Therefore, in the descriptions of FIGS. 1 to 12 , embodiments will be described based on the camera module 1000 .
- the first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ), the second reflective module ( 1300 of FIG. 5 ), and a blocking member ( 1400 of FIG. 5 ) are equally included in a reflective module assembly according to embodiments
- the first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ), the second reflective module ( 1300 of FIG. 5 ), and the blocking member ( 1400 of FIG. 5 ) may be equally applied to the reflective module assembly according to embodiments.
- the camera module 1000 may include a plurality of reflective modules (folded modules) 1200 and 1300 ) provided in an internal space of the housing 1100 , a lens module 1500 , and an image sensor unit 1900 .
- a plurality of reflective modules 1200 and 1300 may be provided in front of the lens module 1500 to change a path of incident light
- an image sensor unit 1900 may be provided in the rear of the lens module 1500 such that an image is formed by the incident light.
- the image sensor unit 1900 may include an image sensor, converting light passing through a plurality of lenses into an electrical signal, and a printed circuit board (PCB) on which the image sensor is mounted.
- PCB printed circuit board
- the housing 1100 may be provided with a baffle in front or the rear of the lens module 1500 to block unnecessary light, which may be introduced into the image sensor unit 1900 , so as to reduce flare.
- a baffle in front or the rear of the lens module 1500 to block unnecessary light, which may be introduced into the image sensor unit 1900 , so as to reduce flare.
- one or more baffles may be provided in the internal space of the housing 1100 .
- the baffle may be, for example, a blocking member 1400 illustrated in FIG. 5 .
- the reflective modules 1200 and 1300 may be configured to change a propagation direction of light.
- light may be incident from a subject through a cover (that is, a shield can) 1110 , covering the camera module 1000 from above, in a thickness direction (for example, a Y-axis direction) of the camera module 1000 .
- An optical path of the incident light may be changed by the plurality of reflective modules 1200 and 1300 provided in the housing 1100 .
- the incident light may reach the image sensor 1900 through the lens module 1500 in an optical axis (Z-axis) direction to be converted into an electrical signal.
- the plurality of reflective modules 1200 and 1300 may be provided with a reflective member reflecting a light.
- At least two reflective modules 1200 and 1300 may be provided.
- the number of changes in the optical path of the light incident into the housing 1100 may correspond to the number of reflective modules 1200 and 1300 provided in the housing 1100 .
- the optical path may be changed twice or more after being incident on the camera module 1000 until reaching the image sensor unit 1900 .
- FIG. 5 illustrates a camera module 1000 including a reflective module assembly provided with two reflective modules 1200 and 1300 .
- the first reflective module 1200 may be provided in a first space 1101 formed below an opening 1111 provided in an upper portion of a housing 1100 .
- a second reflective module 1300 may be provided in a second space 1102 adjacent to one side of the first space 1101 .
- a lens module 1500 may be provided in a third space 1103 adjacent to one side of the second space 1102 , and an image sensor unit 1900 may be provided in the rear of the lens module 1500 . Accordingly, light incident through the opening 1111 formed in a cover 1110 of the housing 1100 may reach the image sensor unit 1900 after sequentially passing through the first reflective module 1200 , the second reflective module 1300 , and the lens module 1500 .
- the first reflective module 1200 may include a first reflective member 1220 , a first holder 1210 supporting the first reflective member 1220 , a first driving part 1230 driving the first holder 1210 , and a first ball member 1240 rotatably supporting the first holder 1210 , and a first pulling magnet 1250 pulling the first holder 1210 to the housing 1100 .
- the first driving part 1230 may include a first magnet 1231 , provided in the first holder 1210 , and a first coil 1232 and a first position sensing part 1233 provided in the housing 1100 .
- the second reflective module 1300 may include a second reflective member 1320 , a second holder 1310 supporting the second reflective member 1320 , a second driving part 1330 driving the second holder 1310 , a second ball member 1340 rotatably supporting the second holder 1310 , and a back yoke 1350 improving performance of the second driving part 1330 .
- the second driving part 1330 may include a second magnet 1331 , provided in the second holder 1310 , and a second coil 1332 and a second position sensing part 1333 provided in the housing 1100 .
- the second ball member 1340 may include a rotation axis ball 1341 , forming a rotation axis of the second holder 1310 , and a guide ball 1342 guiding a rotation of the second holder 1310 . Since a rotation structure of the second reflective module 1300 is different from a rotation structure of the first reflective module 1200 , the number of the second ball members 1340 may be different from the number of the first ball members 1240 .
- Each of the first ball member 1240 and the second ball member 1340 may be provided in a spherical shape, but a shape thereof is not limited to being spherical.
- Each of the first ball member 1240 and the second ball member 1340 may be provided in a round shape to perform a rolling motion within a predetermined range.
- the first ball member 1240 and the second ball member 1340 may respectively correspond to a first sphere and a second sphere, and thus descriptions thereof will be omitted.
- the housing 1100 of the camera module 1000 may be integrally formed to have a first space 1101 , a second space 1102 , and a third space 1103 .
- the first reflective module 1200 , the second reflective module 1300 , and the lens module 1500 may be mounted in the first space 1101 , the second space 1102 , and the third space 1103 of the housing 1100 , respectively.
- the image sensor unit 1900 may be provided in the rear of the lens module 1500 .
- FIG. 5 is only an example, and the housing 1100 may be formed by coupling a first sub-housing having the first space 1101 , a second sub-housing having the second space 1102 , and a third sub-housing having the third space 1103 .
- the first sub-housing may define the first space 1101 and may include the first reflective module 1200 therein
- the second sub-housing may define the second space 1102 and may include the second reflective member 1300 therein
- the third sub-housing may define the third space 1103 and may include the lens module 1500 therein.
- the first sub-housing, the second sub-housing, and the third sub-housing may be provided to be separate from each other, and may be coupled to each other to form the housing 1100 of the camera module 1000 .
- the first sub-housing and the second sub-housing may be coupled to be in contact with each other, and thus may be provided over the first space 1101 and the second space 1102 , and an optical path change portion including the first reflective module 1200 and the second reflective module 1300 may be formed.
- the third sub-housing may be coupled to be in contact with the second sub-housing, and thus, incident light emitted from the optical path change portion including the first reflective module 1200 and the second reflective module 1300 may be incident on the lens module 1500 in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction.
- first sub-housing and the second sub-housing may be integrally provided to form a housing of the reflective module assembly according to embodiments.
- first reflective module 1200 and the second reflective module 1300 may be provided inside the housing of the reflective module assembly in which the first sub-housing and the second sub-housing are integrally formed.
- the third sub-housing, in which the lens module 1500 is provided may be assembled with the housing of the reflective module assembly to form the housing 1100 according to embodiments as a whole.
- incident light may change in a propagation path through the first reflective module 1200 and the second reflective module 1300 , provided in the reflective module housing, and may be incident on the image sensor 1900 via the lens module 1500 of the third sub-housing.
- a direction from the first space 1101 to the second space 1102 and a direction from the second space 1102 to the third space 1103 may be perpendicular to each other.
- the housing 1100 may be formed to have an overall ‘L’ shape when viewed in a thickness direction (for example, a Y-axis direction). Due to the ‘L’ shape of which central portion is bent, the camera module according to embodiments may have an effect of reducing an overall length of the camera module 1000 while maintaining the optical path to be long for a zoom function and a tracking function.
- a blocking member 1400 for blocking unnecessary light may be provided between the first space 1101 and the second space 1102 in the housing 1100 to reduce flare.
- the blocking member 1400 may be a member disposed on the propagation path of the incident light and fitted into the internal space of the housing 1100 , and may reduce unnecessary light to prevent excessive reflection from occurring when the incident light passes through the internal space of the housing 1100 .
- the blocking member 1400 may be provided as a plate-shaped member having a region opened to allow light, starting from the subject, to pass therethrough.
- a plurality of projections may be provided on an end portion of the opened region of the blocking member 1400 to reduce flare caused by light reflection, diffraction, or the like.
- a blocking member accommodating groove in which the blocking member 1400 is accommodated, may be provided on the internal surface of the housing 1100 between the first space 1101 and the second space 1102 . End portions of both sides of the blocking member 1400 may be slid in one direction (for example, a Y-axis direction) along the blocking member accommodation groove to be coupled to the inside of the housing 1100 . As necessary, the blocking member 1400 may be removed from the housing 1100 .
- one or more blocking members 1400 may be provided between the first space 1101 and the second space 1102 , as necessary.
- the blocking member 1400 may be provided to reduce reflection or diffraction of unnecessary light which may occur while incident light is emitted from the first reflective module 1200 and is then incident on the second reflective module 1300 .
- the first reflective module 1200 may include a first reflective member ( 1220 of FIG. 6A ) to change the light propagation path.
- the first reflective member ( 1220 of FIG. 6A ) may be a first prism.
- a prism is an example of a reflective member, and any member (for example, a mirror, or the like) may be included in the reflective member described in some embodiments as long as it may diffract or reflect light to change a propagation path of the light.
- the light, incident in the thickness direction of the camera module 1000 may be reflected by the first prism of the first reflective module 1200 and may then be reflected in a second direction (for example, an X-axis direction) different from the first direction (for example, the Y-axis direction).
- the first reflected light may be incident on the second reflective module 1300 provided in the housing 1100 in the second direction (for example, the X-axis direction).
- the second reflective module 1300 may include a second reflection member ( 1320 of FIG. 8A ) to change the light propagation path.
- the second reflective member 1320 of FIG. 8A may be a second prism.
- the first reflected light may be reflected from the second prism and may then be emitted in a third direction (for example, a Z-axis direction) different from the second direction (for example, X-axis direction), an incident direction.
- the light emitted from the second reflective module 1300 will be referred to as second reflected light.
- the incident light may be changed in propagation path in the order of the first, second, and third directions while sequentially passing through the first reflection module 1200 and the second reflection module 1300 , and may finally be incident on the lens module 1500 in the third direction.
- Light having a propagation path changed by the first reflective module 1200 and the second reflective module 1300 , may be incident on the lens module 1500 . Therefore, a plurality of lenses provided in the lens module 1500 may be stacked in the third direction (for example, the Z-axis direction), a direction in which the light is emitted from the second reflective module 1300 .
- the lens module 1500 may be moved in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction to implement autofocusing (AF) function, a zoom functions, and the like.
- the light emitted from the lens module 1500 may reach the image sensor unit 1900 disposed in the rear of the lens module 1500 .
- the image sensor unit 1900 may convert the incident light into an electrical signal, and may transmit the electrical signal to an outside of the camera module 1000 .
- a main substrate 1800 may be provided on a side surface of the housing 1100 .
- the main substrate 1800 may be electrically connected to the first reflective module 1200 , the second reflective module 1300 , the lens module 1500 , and the image sensor unit 1900 to transmit and receive an electrical signal thereto and therefrom.
- the internal space of the housing 1100 may be covered with the cover 1110 .
- the cover 1110 may have an opening 1111 allowing light to be incident therethrough. The light, incident through the opening 1111 , may be changed in propagation direction by the first reflective module 1200 and the second reflective module 1300 to be incident on the lens module 1500 .
- the cover 1110 may be integrally provided to cover the entire housing 1100 or may be provided with divided members, respectively covering the reflective modules 1200 and 1300 and the lens module 1500 .
- the reflective members When a still image or video is captured, the reflective members, respectively provided in the first reflective module 1200 and the second reflective module 1300 , may be rotated and moved to track a moving subject. As the reflective members ( 1220 of FIG. 6A and 1320 of FIG. 8A ) provided in the plurality of reflective modules 1200 and 1300 are rotated and moved, a path of light incident from the moving subject may be continuously changed, and thus, the incident light may accurately reach the lens module 1500 . Accordingly, the path of the incident light may be changed several times to decrease a size of the camera module, which can be reduced while forming the path of the incident light to be long.
- the first reflective module 1200 and the second reflective module 1300 provided in a reflective module assembly according to embodiments and a camera module including the same will be described in detail.
- FIGS. 6A and 6B are exploded perspective views of a first reflective module 1200 according to one or more embodiments
- FIGS. 6C to 6E are cross-sectional views illustrating rotation of the first reflective module 1200 at a predetermined angle while being inserted into a housing 1100
- FIGS. 7A and 7B are reference views illustrating an example in which a ball member 40 of a camera module is fixed to support three points thereof on a guide portion 30 .
- the first reflective module 1200 may be provided to be inserted into the housing 1100 , and may include a first holder 1210 fixedly provided with a first reflective member 1220 , at least two first ball members 1240 inserted into the first holder 1210 and forming a first axis A 1 , a rotation axis of the first holder 1210 , first driving parts 1230 , respectively provided on both side surfaces of the first holder 1210 to rotate the first holder 1210 about the first axis A 1 , and a first pulling magnet 1250 pressing the first holder 1210 in a direction of the lower surface of the housing 1100 .
- the first driving part 1230 may include a first magnet 1231 and a first coil 1232 , magnetically interacting with each other, and a first position sensing part 1233 sensing the amount of rotation of the first holder 1210 .
- the first axis A 1 may be formed to be parallel to an optical axis of the lens module (for example, 1500 of FIG. 5 ).
- the first reflective module 1200 corresponds to the first reflective module 1200 described above with reference to FIG. 5 , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.
- the first reflective module 1200 may include a first reflective member 1220 which may change a path of incident light.
- the first reflective member 1220 may be fixed to the first holder 1210 , and a propagation direction of the incident light may be changed from a first direction (for example, a Y-axis direction) to a second direction (for example, an X-axis direction).
- the first reflective member 1220 may be a mirror or a prism reflecting light (for ease of description, the first reflective member 1220 is illustrated as having a prismatic shape in the drawings related to one embodiment).
- the first reflective member 1220 may include a chamfer 1221 , in which a corner of the first reflective member 1220 is cut, to reduce flare.
- a light blocking film may be attached to the chamfer 1221 , or a light blocking pigment may be coated on the chamfer 1221 .
- Some surfaces of the first reflective member 1220 may be provided with a reflective surface to change a path of light.
- a propagation path of light, incident on the first reflective member 1220 from an external subject in the first direction (for example, the Y-axis direction), may be changed to the second direction (for example, the X-axis direction) after the incident light passes through the reflective surface of the first reflective member 1220 .
- a blocking member 1400 which may block unnecessary light, may be provided on the propagation path of the light emitted by changing the propagation path of the first reflective member 1220 in the first reflective member 1220 .
- the first holder 1210 may be provided to be rotatable about the first axis A 1 , formed by the first ball member 1240 , while fixing the first reflective member 1220 .
- Rotational energy for rotating the first holder 1210 may be generated by the first driving part 1230 provided on the side surface of the first holder 1210 .
- the first holder 1210 may have a mounting surface on which the first reflective member 1220 is mounted.
- the mounting surface of the first holder 1210 may be provided as a surface inclined to change a path of light.
- the mounting surface may be an inclined surface inclined at an angle of 30 degrees to 60 degrees with respect to an incident direction of incident light (for example, a Y-axis direction).
- the first holder 1210 may include a plurality of projections 1211 disposed in an end portion, from which incident light is reflected to be emitted, and protruding toward the first reflective member 1220 to reduce flare generated by light reflection, diffraction, or the like.
- An end portion of the projection 1211 may be formed to be sharp, and the projection 1211 may be provided over a predetermined region of an end portion of the mounting surface.
- the first holder 1210 may be supported while being spaced apart from the lower surface of the housing 1100 in the state in which two first ball members 1240 are fitted between the first holder 1210 and the housing 1100 . Since the first holder 1210 is spaced apart from the housing 1100 at a predetermined interval in the state in which the spherical first ball member 1240 is fitted between the first holder 1210 and the housing 1100 , the first holder 1210 may rotate about a first axis A 1 (for example, an axis parallel to a Z-axis, an optical axis) interconnecting the two first ball members 1240 .
- a first axis A 1 for example, an axis parallel to a Z-axis, an optical axis
- the first ball member 1240 may be fixed by a first support portion 1261 , provided in the housing 1100 , and a second support portion 1262 , formed to face the first support portion 1261 in both side portions of the first holder 1210 , to form the first axis A 1 .
- the two first ball members 1240 of which positions are fixed with respect to the housing 1100 may be interconnected to form the first axis A 1 .
- the first ball member 1240 may be inserted to be fixed between the second support portion 1262 of the first holder 1210 and the first support portion 1261 of the housing 1100 . More specifically, the first ball member 1240 may be inserted between the first guide portion 1261 a of the first support portion 1261 and the second guide portion 1262 a of the second support portion 1262 to fix a position of the first ball member 1240 with respect to the housing 1100 .
- Each of the first holder 1210 and the housing 1100 may be selectively provided with a pulling magnet or a pulling yoke to closely support the first holder 1210 to the housing 1100 while fitting the first ball member 1240 on the first holder 1210 .
- the first pulling magnet 1250 may be provided in a region of the first holder 1210
- a first pulling yoke (for example, 1270 of FIG. 10A ) may be provided in a region, facing the first pulling magnet 1250 , of an internal surface of the housing 1100 .
- the illustrated content is only an example.
- a first pulling magnet may be provided on the internal surface of the housing 1100
- a first pulling yoke may be provided on the first holder 1210 .
- pulling magnets may be disposed on all facing surfaces of the first holder 1210 and the housing 1100 .
- the first pulling magnet 1250 may be provided on a plane defined by the first axis A 1 .
- the first pulling magnet 1250 may be provided on a plane, including the first axis A 1 and extending in a direction perpendicular to a bottom surface of the housing 1100 , such that at least a portion of the first pulling magnet 1250 overlaps the plane. That is, in FIG.
- the first pulling magnet 1250 and the first axis A 1 may be aligned on one plane parallel to a Y-Z plane. Attractive force may act between the first pulling magnet 1250 and the first pulling yoke 1270 , and a central point of the attractive force may be disposed on the Y-Z plane including the first axis A 1 . Accordingly, the attractive force generated by the first pulling magnet 1250 may be applied to the first holder 1210 in a direction, perpendicular to and intersecting the first axis A 1 .
- the attractive force of the first pulling magnet 1250 and the first pulling yoke ( 1270 of FIG. 10A ) may allow the first holder 1210 to be closely supported by a lower surface of the housing 1100 while maintaining a predetermined distance between the first holder 1210 and the lower surface of the housing 1100 .
- the first holder 1210 may be rotated about the first axis A 1 by electromagnetic force generated by the first driving part 1230 .
- the first driving part 1230 may include first magnets 1231 , respectively provided on both sides of the first holder 1210 , a first coil 1232 provided on an internal sidewall of the housing 1100 facing the first magnet 1231 , and a first position sensing part 1233 provided to be adjacent to the first coil 1232 and sensing the amount of rotation of the first holder 1210 .
- the first magnet 1231 may include an N-pole and an S-pole aligned in a direction, perpendicular to the first axis A 1 .
- a surface of the first magnet 1231 , facing the first coil 1232 may have an N-pole and an S-pole in the Y-axis direction.
- the N-pole and the S-pole of the first magnet 1231 may allow the first holder 1210 to be rotated by an electromagnetic interaction with the first coil 1232 .
- the first magnet 1231 may be disposed as far as possible from the first axis A 1 to significantly increase rotational torque.
- a first magnet accommodation portions 1260 protruding in a direction perpendicular to the first axis A 1 may be provided on both sides of the first holder 1210 . That is, since the first magnet accommodation portion 1260 is formed to protrude in a direction away from the first axis A 1 , a rotation axis, large rotational force may be generated while maintaining a size and a weight of the first holder 1210 .
- a first back yoke may be provided between the first magnet 1231 and the first holder 1210 to maintain or improve performance of the first magnet 1231 .
- the first back yoke may have an area corresponding to or larger than an area of the first magnet 1231 .
- the first coil 1232 may be provided in a position facing the first magnet 1231 on the internal sidewall of the housing 1100 .
- the first coil 1232 may receive an electrical signal, including current, from a main substrate (for example, 1800 of FIG. 5 ) provided on a sidewall of the housing 1100 .
- a main substrate for example, 1800 of FIG. 5
- the current of the first coil 1232 and a magnetic field of the first magnet 1231 may electromagnetically interact with each other to generate a rotational torque rotating the first holder 1210 about the first axis A 1 .
- a first reflective module may be provided to be rotatable about the first axis A 1 by about ⁇ 10 degrees (that is, a total of about 20 degrees).
- the first position sensing part 1233 may be provided to be adjacent to the first coil 1232 . Also, the first position sensing part 1233 may be disposed to face the first magnet 1231 . In embodiments, the first position sensing part 1233 may be provided outside of the first coil 1232 . Accordingly, the first position sensing part 1233 may accurately sense a position of the first holder 1210 without being affected by the magnetic field generated by the first coil 1232 . However, the position of the first position sensing part 1233 is not limited to the outside of the first coil 1232 . For example, the first position sensing part 1233 may be disposed inside the first coil 1232 , or may be disposed outside the first coil in a direction away from the first axis A 1 .
- At least one first position sensing part 1233 may be provided on each side of the first holder 1210 to accurately sense the amount of rotation of the first holder 1210 .
- FIG. 6A is only an example, and a plurality of first position sensing parts 1233 may be provided on both sides of the first holder 1210 in a rotational direction of the first holder 1210 .
- the first reflective module 1200 may be controlled in a closed loop control manner in which the first position sensing part 1233 senses the degree of rotation of the first holder 1210 and feedbacks the sensed degree to the first driving part 1230 .
- the first position sensing part 1233 may be a Hall sensor. Also, the first position sensing part 1233 may include an additional sensing magnet.
- At least one first position sensing part 1233 may be provided on both side surfaces of the first holder 1210 .
- a single first position sensing part 1233 may be provided on both sides of the first holder 1210 outside the first coil 1232 .
- two first position sensing parts 1233 may be provided to be spaced apart from the first axis A 1 at the same distance. Since the first position sensing part 1233 is provided on both sides of the first holder 1210 , the accurate amount of rotation may be measured even when the first holder 1210 is offset or tilted to one side.
- FIGS. 6C to 6E are each cross-sectional views taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 4 .
- the first holder 1210 may rotate about a first axis (for example, an axis orthogonal to an X axis and a Y axis of FIG. 6C ) in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
- the first axis corresponds to the first axis A 1 described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.
- the housing 1100 may include a first reflective module 1200 and a second reflective module 1300 therein.
- a first holder 1210 of the first reflective module 1200 may be supported by a first support portion 1261 with a first ball member 1240 interposed therebetween.
- a first magnet accommodation portion 1260 and a first magnet 1231 may be provided on a side surface of the first holder 1210 .
- the first holder 1210 may be rotated about the first axis (for example, the axis orthogonal to the X axis and the Y axis of FIG. 6C ), a rotation axis, in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction by the first driving part 1230 .
- a first guide portion 1261 a may be provided with a first support portion 1261 and a second support portion 1262 may be provided with a second guide portion 1262 a to fix a position of the first ball member 1240 and to stably rotate the first ball member 1240 .
- FIG. 6C illustrates a state in which the first holder 1210 is horizontally supported with respect to the housing 1100 by the first support portion 1261 of the housing 1100 .
- FIG. 6D illustrates a shape when the first holder 1210 maximally rotates about a first axis (an axis orthogonal to an X-axis and a Y-axis), a rotation axis formed by the first ball member 1240 , in a counterclockwise direction.
- FIG. 6E illustrates a shape when the first holder 1210 maximally rotates about a first axis (an axis orthogonal to an X-axis and a Y-axis), a rotation axis formed by the first ball member 1240 , in a clockwise direction.
- the first support portion 1261 of the housing 1100 may be provided with a first guide portion (for example, 1261 a of FIG. 6C ) and the second support portion 1262 of the first holder 1210 may be provided with the second guide portion 1262 a such that the first ball member 1240 is inserted therebetween. Since the spherical first ball member 1240 should not be moved, at least one of the first guide portion 1261 a and the second guide portion 1262 a may be inclined to support at least three points thereof on the first ball member 1240 .
- a support structure of the first ball member 1240 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B .
- FIGS. 7A and 7B are reference views illustrating an example in which a ball member 40 of a reflective module assembly (for example, the first reflective module 1200 and the second reflective module 1300 ) according to embodiments is fixed to support three points thereof on a guide portion 30 .
- the ball member 40 corresponds to the first ball member of FIGS. 6A to 6E and the guide portion 30 corresponds to the first guide portion 1261 a or the second guide portion 1262 a of FIGS. 6A to 6E , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.
- the position may be fixed by the three-point supporting structure.
- the ball member 40 may be inserted into the guide portion 30 .
- the ball member 40 inserted into the guide portion 30 , may be maintained to be in contact with and supported by the guide portion 30 at three points P to maintain an accurate position inside the guide portion 30 .
- the ball guide 40 may be driven while being offset to one side, for example, a contact may be formed at only three points, depending on a manufacturing tolerance or a driving state of the guide portion 30 or the ball member 40 .
- the guide portion 30 may be provided to have a shape formed by cutting each corner of a triangular pyramid (tetrahedron).
- the guide portion 30 includes three first surfaces 21 such that the spherical ball member 40 may supported at three points P by an internal side surface of the guide portion 30 .
- the first surface 21 may be a portion of the side surface, and the side surface may be provided between a first surface 21 and a first surface 21 with which the ball member 40 is in contact (that is, provided to be adjacent to two of the first surfaces 21 ) and may include a second surface 23 which is not in contact with the ball member 40 .
- a triangular pyramid (a tetrahedron) may be implemented.
- a line segment formed by extending the three side surfaces in point contact with the ball member 40 to intersect each other may implement a corner of a triangular pyramid (a tetrahedron).
- a triangular pyramid implemented by extending three side surfaces may be an equilateral triangular pyramid.
- the guide portion 30 may be provided to have a shape formed by cutting each vertex of a triangular pyramid (tetrahedron).
- a portion of the triangular pyramid formed by cutting an internal corner of the guide portion 30 may form a bottom 10 of the guide portion 30 , and portions formed by cutting the other three corners of an entrance of the guide portion may form the second surface 23 of the side surfaces not in contact with the ball member 40 .
- the bottom 10 and the second surface 23 are formed by cutting corners of the triangular pyramid, each of the bottom 10 and the second surface 23 may have a triangular shape and the ball member 40 may not be in contact with the bottom 10 and the second surface 23 .
- the entrance of the guide portion 30 may have a hexagonal shape because the guide portion 30 is formed by cutting all corners of the triangular bottom of the triangular pyramid (tetrahedron).
- the bottom of the guide portion 30 may have a triangular shape.
- the ball member 40 of the camera module is supported at three points by the guide portion 30 and is stably fixed to form a rotation axis, a position of the rotation axis is always fixed with respect to the housing 1100 . Accordingly, the first reflective module 1200 may stably rotate about the first axis A 1 .
- the second reflective module 1300 may be provided to be inserted into the housing 1100 , and may include a second holder 1310 fixedly provided with a second reflective member 1320 , a rotation axis ball 1341 provided on a lower surface of the second holder 1310 to form a second axis B 1 , a rotation axis of the second holder 1310 , a second driving part 1330 provided on the lower surface of the second holder 1310 to rotate the second holder 1310 about the second axis B 1 , and a second pulling yoke 1370 pressing the second holder 1310 in a direction of a lower surface of a housing (for example, 1100 of FIG. 5 ).
- the second pulling yoke 1370 may be a pulling magnet magnetically interacting with the second magnet 1331 .
- the second driving part 1330 may include a second magnet 1331 and a second coil 1332 , electromagnetically interacting with each other, and a second position sensing part 1333 sensing the amount of rotation of the second holder 1310 .
- the second axis B 1 may be perpendicular to a first axis (A 1 of FIG. 6A ), a rotation axis of the first reflective member (for example, 1220 of FIG. 6A ).
- the second axis B 1 may be formed to be perpendicular to the first axis (A 1 in FIG. 6A ) and to intersect an optical axis of the lens module (for example, 1500 in FIG. 5 ).
- the second reflective module 1300 may include a second reflective member 1320 which may change a path of the incident light.
- the second reflective member 1320 may be fixedly provided on the second holder 1310 , and may change a propagation direction of the incident light from a second direction (for example, an X-axis direction) to a third direction (for example, a Z-axis direction).
- the second reflective member 1320 may be a mirror or a prism reflecting light (for ease of description, the second reflective member 1320 is illustrated as having a prismatic shape in the drawings related to one embodiment).
- the second reflective member 1320 may include a chamfer (not illustrated), in which a corner of the second reflective member 1320 is cut, to reduce flare.
- a light blocking film may be attached to the chamfer (not illustrated), or a light blocking pigment may be coated on the chamfer (not illustrated).
- Some surfaces of the second reflective member 1320 may be provided with a reflective surface to change a path of light.
- an incident surface of the second reflective member 1320 and an emission surface of the first reflective member may be provided to face each other.
- light emitted from the first reflective member ( 1220 of FIG. 6A ) in the second direction may be incident on the incident surface of the second reflective member 1320 through a blocking member 1400 provided in the housing 1100 .
- the light, incident on the second reflective member 1320 may be emitted through the reflective surface of the second reflective member 1320 after a propagation path of the second reflective member 1320 is changed to a third direction (for example, a Z-axis direction).
- the light, emitted in the third direction may be incident on a lens module (for example, 1500 of FIG. 5 ) provided to be adjacent to the second reflective module 1300 .
- the second direction (for example, the X-axis direction) and the third direction (for example, the Z-axis direction) correspond to the second and third directions described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 , and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.
- the second holder 1310 may have a mounting surface 1311 on which the second reflective member 1320 is mounted.
- the mounting surface 1311 of the second holder 1310 may be provided as a surface inclined to change a path of light.
- the mounting surface 1311 may be an inclined surface inclined by 30 degrees to 60 degrees with respect to an incident direction of the incident light (for example, the X-axis direction).
- a plurality of projections protruding toward the second reflective member 1320 , may be provided on an end portion, on which incident light is reflected and incident, of the second holder 1310 to reduce flare caused by light reflection, diffraction, or the like.
- An end portion of the protrusion may be formed to be sharp, and the protrusion (not illustrated) may be provided over a predetermined region of an end portion of the mounting surface.
- the second holder 1310 may be provided to fix the second reflective member 1320 and to be rotatable about an axis fixed with respect to the housing 1100 .
- the second holder 1310 may be supported while being spaced apart from a lower surface of the housing 1100 in the state in which a single rotation axis ball 1341 is fitted between the second holder 1310 and the housing 1100 .
- the second holder 1310 may rotate about a second axis B 1 (for example, an axis parallel to a Y-axis intersecting an optical axis) formed to be perpendicular to a bottom surface of the housing 1100 .
- a second axis B 1 for example, an axis parallel to a Y-axis intersecting an optical axis
- at least a portion of the second holder 1310 may be provided in a round shape to facilitate rotation of the second holder 1310 . More specifically, at least a portion of the second holder 1310 may be provided to correspond to a shape of an arc having the second axis B 1 as a center.
- the rotation of the second holder 1310 will be described in more detail.
- the second holder 1310 may be supported while maintaining a predetermined distance from the bottom surface of the housing 1100 by at least three second ball members 1340 provided on the lower surface of the second holder 1310 .
- the second reflective module 1300 including three second ball members 1340 is illustrated in FIG. 8A .
- the second holder 1310 since the second holder 1310 is supported at three points by the three second ball members 1340 , the second holder 1310 may be supported without being inclined to one side.
- the second holder 1310 may be supported while being maintained to be parallel to the bottom surface of the housing 1100 .
- the second ball member 1340 may include one rotation axis ball 1341 and two guide balls 1342 .
- the rotation axis ball 1341 may form the second axis B 1 , a rotation axis of the second holder 1310 , while being fitted between the lower surface of the second holder 1310 and the housing 1100 .
- the guide ball 1342 may be provided on the lower surface of the second holder 1310 in a position, spaced apart from the second axis B 1 , to guide the rotation of the second holder 1310 .
- the second axis B 1 may be an axis, perpendicular to a plane including a triangle extending from the rotating axis ball 1341 to connect the three second ball members 1340 .
- the number of the second ball members 1340 including the rotation axis ball 1341 forming the second axis B 1 may be different from the number of the first ball member (for example, 1240 of FIG. 6A ) and each other.
- the first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ) and the second reflective module 1300 may form rotation axes in different directions through different numbers of ball members 1240 and 1340 .
- the housing 1100 may be provided with a third guide portion (for example, 1361 a of FIG. 8A ) and the second holder 1310 may be provided with a fourth guide portion (for example, 1362 a of FIG. 8B ). Since a position of the spherical rotation axis ball 1341 should be fixed, at least one of the third guide portion ( 1361 a of FIG. 8A ) and the fourth guide portion ( 1362 a of FIG. 8B ) may be inclined to support the rotation axis ball 1341 at three points. For example, the third guide portion ( 1361 a of FIG. 8A ) or the fourth guide portion ( 1362 a of FIG.
- a shape of a portion, in which the rotation axis ball 1341 is accommodated, in the third guide portion ( 1361 a of FIG. 8A ) and the fourth guide portion ( 1362 a of FIG. 8B ), may be the same as a shape of a portion, in which the first ball member (for example, 1262 a of FIG. 6C ) is accommodated, in the first guide portion (for example, 1261 a of FIG. 6C ) and the second guide portion (for example, 1262 a of FIG. 6C ), and thus a detailed description thereof may refer to the descriptions of FIGS. 6A to 6E and FIGS. 7A and 7B .
- the housing 1100 may be provided with a fifth guide portion (for example, 1363 a of FIG. 8A ) and the second holder 1310 may be provided with a sixth guide portion ( 1364 a of FIG. 8B ). Since the spherical guide ball 1342 moves in, in detail, a rolling motion in a rotational direction of the second holder 1310 , to move a position of the guide ball 1342 , the fifth guide portion ( 1363 a of FIG. 8A ) and the sixth guide portion ( 1364 a of FIG. 8B ) may be provided to be long in the rotational direction of the second holder 1310 .
- the sixth guide portion ( 1364 a of FIG. 8B ) may be provided to have various shapes.
- at least one of the fifth guide portion ( 1363 a of FIG. 8A ) and the sixth guide portion ( 1364 a of FIG. 8B ) may be provided to have a shape of an arc corresponding to the rotation path of the second holder 1310 .
- at least one of the fifth guide portion ( 1363 a of FIG. 8A ) and the sixth guide portion ( 1364 a of FIG. 8B ) may be provided to have a shape of a straight line in contact with the rotation path of the second holder 1310 .
- a guide portion having a shape of a straight line may be provided such that the guide ball 1342 has an additional degree of freedom. This is because the guide ball 1342 supports the rotating second holder 1310 , so that a guide operation may not be properly performed when a guide portion is provided to simply move in a direction of a straight line.
- the guide ball 1342 may be supported by at least two points in one of the fifth guide portion ( 1363 a of FIG. 8A ) and the sixth guide portion ( 1364 a of FIG. 8B ) and may be supported by at least one point in the other thereof.
- the guide ball 1342 may move in a rolling motion.
- FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a second reflective module 1300 is coupled to a housing 1100 according to embodiments.
- a rotation portion 72 rotating relative to a fixed portion 71 about a rotation axis, may be guided by a guide ball 1342 .
- the fixed portion 71 may correspond to a certain region of the bottom surface of the internal space of the housing 1100 described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8B
- the rotation portion 72 may correspond to a region of the lower surface of the second holder 1310 described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8B , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.
- a fifth guide portion 1363 a may have a V-shaped or U-shaped groove opened in an upward direction from a lower surface of the fixed portion 71 .
- the guide ball 1342 may be inserted into the fifth guide portion 1363 a and may be in contact with V-shaped or U-shaped both sides 25 a to be supported at two or more points. Alternatively, the guide ball 1342 may also be in contact with a bottom surface 26 a to be supported at three or more points.
- a sixth guide portion 1364 a may have a groove opened in a downward direction of the rotation portion 72 in a portion opposing the fifth guide portion 1363 a .
- the guide ball 1342 may not be in contact with a side surface 25 b of the sixth guide portion 1364 a and may be supported by a bottom surface 26 b of the sixth guide portion 1364 a at one point.
- a ball may move right and left along the bottom surface 26 b without restriction of a side surface 25 b in a guide portion supported at only one point by the bottom surface 26 b of the sixth guide portion 1364 a , so that the sixth guide portion 1364 a may have an additional degree of freedom to allow the guide ball 1342 to smoothly move in a rolling motion even when the rotation portion 72 is rotationally moved.
- the guide ball 1342 When the guide ball 1342 is in contact with either one of the side surfaces 25 b , the guide ball 1342 cannot move in a rolling motion in a direction toward the rotation axis (or in a direction away from the rotation axis). Therefore, the side surfaces 25 b may serve as a stopper.
- the guide ball 1342 may be supported at two or more points in the fifth guide portion 1363 a , provided in the fixed portion 71 , to move in a rolling motion along a predetermined path of the guide portions 1363 a and 1364 a , and may be supported at one point by a bottom surface in the sixth guide portion 1364 a provided in the rotation portion 72 .
- the guide ball 1342 supported at one point, may move in a rolling motion with a predetermined degree of freedom on a guide portion bottom 26 b of the rotation portion 72 as the rotation portion 72 moves, and thus may form a moving path. Accordingly, the guide ball 1342 may properly guide the rotation path while maintaining a small friction force, during the rotational movement of the rotating portion.
- the description of the above-described fifth guide portion 1363 a and the sixth guide portion 1364 a is an example.
- the sixth guide portion 1364 a may have a V-shaped or U-shaped groove opened in a downward direction of the second holder 1310 .
- the guide ball 1342 may be provided to be supported at two or more points by the sixth guide portion 1364 a
- the fifth guide portion 1363 a may be provided such that the guide ball 1342 is supported at one or more points.
- the second holder 1310 may be rotated about the second axis B 1 by electromagnetic force generated from the second magnet 1331 and the second coil 1332 of the second driving part 1330 .
- the second driving part 1330 may include a second magnet 1331 provided on a lower surface of the second holder 1310 , at least one second coil 1332 provided on a lower surface of the housing 1100 facing the second magnet 1331 , and a second position sensing part 1333 provided to be adjacent to the second coil 1332 and sensing the amount of rotation of the second holder 1310 .
- the second position sensing part 1333 may be provided as at least one second position sensing part 1333 .
- the second position sensing part 1333 may be provided as at least two second position sensing parts 1333 to accurately sense the amount of rotation of the second holder 1310 . Accordingly, the amount of rotation of the second holder 1310 may be stably sensed even when an impact is applied from an outside of the second reflective module 1300 .
- the second position sensing part 1333 may be provided inside the second coil 1332 .
- one or more second position sensing parts 1333 may be provided inside the one or more second coils 1332 .
- a position of the second position sensing part 1333 is not limited thereto, and the second position sensing part 1333 may be provided outside the second coil 1332 in a rotational direction of the second holder 1310 .
- the second reflective module 1300 may be further provided with a back yoke 1350 provided between the second holder 1310 and the second magnet 1331 to focus a magnetic field of the second magnet 1331 .
- the back yoke 1350 may have a shape corresponding to the second magnet 1331 or may be provided to be larger than the second magnet 1331 .
- an N-pole and an S-pole may be alternately magnetized on the second magnet 1331 in the rotational direction of the second holder 1310 .
- the second magnet 1331 may be magnetized to three poles of ‘N-pole, S-pole, N-pole’ or ‘S-pole, N-pole, and S-pole’ in the rotational direction of the second holder 1310 .
- the second coil 1332 may receive an electrical signal, including current, from a main substrate (for example, 1800 of FIG. 5 ) provided on a sidewall of the housing 1100 .
- a main substrate for example, 1800 of FIG. 5
- the current of the second coil 1332 and the magnetic field of the second magnet 1331 may electromagnetically interact with each other, so that a rotational torque may be generated to rotate the second holder 1310 about the second axis B 1 in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
- the second reflective module 1300 may be provided to be rotatable about the second axis B 1 (for example, the Y-axis) by more than about ⁇ 11 degrees (that is, a total of about 22 degrees).
- FIGS. 8C to 8E are diagrams illustrating a rotation of the second reflective module 1300 .
- the second holder 1310 of the second reflective module 1300 may rotate about a predetermined rotation axis (for example, the second axis of FIG. 8A ) formed by the rotation axis ball 1341 within a predetermined angle range.
- FIG. 8C is a diagram illustrating the case in which the second holder 1310 of the second reflective module 1300 is in a neutral position
- FIG. 8D is a diagram illustrating that the second holder 1310 of the second reflective module 1300 rotates about a predetermined rotation axis (for example, the second axis of FIG. 8A ) in a counterclockwise rotation
- FIG. 8E is a diagram illustrating that the second holder 1310 of the second reflective module 1300 rotates about a predetermined rotation axis (for example, the second axis of FIG. 8A ) in a clockwise direction.
- a first reflective module 1200 and a second reflective module 1300 may be disposed on a plane (for example, an X-Z plane) to change a path of incident light twice or more.
- a path of the incident light may be changed through a first reflective member ( 1220 of FIG. 5 ) provided in the first reflective module 1200 .
- the incident light may pass through a blocking member 1400 , and may then be incident on the second reflective module 1300 .
- the incident light, of which propagation path is changed once more in the second reflective module 1300 may be incident on an image sensor unit 1900 after passing through a lens module 1500 adjacent to the second reflective module.
- a second reflective module 1300 may rotate about a predetermined rotation axis (for example, the second axis of FIG. 8A ) formed by a rotation axis ball 1341 to correspond to an incident angle, an incident position, and the like, of incident light.
- a predetermined rotation axis for example, the second axis of FIG. 8A
- the second reflective module 1300 may rotate at a predetermined angle corresponding thereto to change a propagation direction of the light to a direction corresponding to an optical axis direction of the lens module 1500 . Accordingly, light incident on a camera module from an external entity may reach the image sensor unit 1900 by changing the propagation path in the plurality of reflective modules 1200 and 1300 .
- a center of gravity or a geometric center of the second magnet 1331 may be provided in a triangle formed by the second ball members 1340 .
- the second holder 1310 is in close contact with the housing 1100 with the second ball member 1340 interposed therebetween by attractive force between the second pulling yoke 1370 and the second magnet 1331 , which is aimed at preventing the second holder 1320 from being inclined to one side.
- a second axis B 1 may be orthogonal to a first axis (for example, A 1 of FIG. 6 ), a rotation axis of a first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ).
- the first axis (A 1 of FIG. 6 ) may be parallel to a Z-axis
- the second axis B 1 may be parallel to a Y-axis.
- the camera module 1000 may track a movement of a subject of interest by respectively rotating the first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ) and the second reflective module 1300 .
- FIG. 10A is a top view illustrating the inside of a housing in a state in which some components of a first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ) and a second module ( 1300 of FIG. 5 ) are omitted in a camera module 1000 according to some embodiments
- FIG. 10B is a bottom view of the housing 1100 of the camera module 1000 according to embodiments.
- an inside of the housing 1100 of the camera module 1000 may be overall divided into a first space 1101 , a second space 1102 , and a third space 1103 .
- a first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ) may be mounted in the first space 1101
- a second reflective module ( 1300 of FIG. 5 ) may be mounted in the second space 1102
- a lens module 1500 may be mounted in the third space 1103 .
- Light, emitted from an external subject may be incident on the first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ) provided in the first space 1101 , and may then be incident on an image sensor unit ( 1900 of FIG. 5 ) through the second reflective module ( 1300 of FIG.
- the first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ), the second reflective module ( 1300 of FIG. 5 ), the lens module 1500 , and the image sensor unit ( 1900 of FIG. 5 ) may respectively correspond to the first reflective modules 1200 , the second reflective module 1300 , the lens module 1500 , and the image sensor unit 1900 described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9 , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.
- a first pulling yoke 1270 and a first support portion 1261 may be provided on an internal surface of the housing 1100 , corresponding to the first space 1101 , to stably provide the first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ).
- the first pulling yoke 1270 may be provided in a position facing a first pulling magnet of the first reflective module ( 1200 of FIG. 5 ), and the first support portion 1261 may be provided in a position facing a second support portion ( 1262 of FIG. 6A ) of the first reflective module 1200 .
- the first pulling yoke 1270 and the first support portion 1261 may respectively correspond to the first pulling yoke 1270 and the first support portion 1261 of FIGS. 6A to 6E , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.
- a blocking member 1400 blocking unnecessary light to reduce flare, may be provided on the internal surface of the housing 1100 between the first space 1101 and the second space 1102 .
- incident light may pass through the blocking member 1400 , and may be more stably incident on the second reflective module ( 1300 of FIG. 5 ) provided in the second space 1102 .
- a third guide portion 1361 a and a fifth guide portion 1363 a may be provided on the internal surface of the housing 1100 corresponding to the second space 1102 .
- the third guide portion 1361 a and the fifth guide portion 1363 a may respectively correspond to the third guide portion 1361 a and the fifth guide portion 1363 a of FIGS. 8 and 9 , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.
- the third space 1103 may be provided to be adjacent to the second space 1102 , and the lens module 1500 may be provided inside the housing 1100 corresponding to the third space 1103 .
- the lens module 1500 may correspond to the lens module 1500 of FIG. 5 , and thus a duplicate description thereof will be omitted.
- a second pulling yoke 1370 opposing the second magnet ( 1331 of FIG. 8A ) of the second reflective module ( 1300 of FIG. 5 ), may be provided on a lower surface of the housing 1100 according to embodiments.
- the second reflective module 1300 may be in close contact with the housing 1100 by attractive force between the second pulling yoke 1370 and a second magnet 1331 .
- the inside of the housing 1100 may be divided into a plurality of spaces including a first space 1101 , a second space 1102 , and a third space 1103 , and a single reflective module ( 1200 or 1300 of FIG. 5 ) may be provided in each of the spaces. That is, in the camera module 1000 according to embodiments, a plurality of reflective modules may be intensively in a narrow region. As a result, a significantly miniaturized camera module 1000 which may track a moving subject may be designed.
- FIG. 11 is a reference view illustrating an overall height of various camera modules 11 A and 11 B according to one or more embodiments.
- a height of the camera module 11 A illustrated in an upper portion of FIG. 11 will be defined as H 1
- a height of the camera module 11 B illustrated in a lower portion of FIG. 11 will be defined as H 2 .
- the camera module 11 A illustrated in the upper portion of FIG. 11 may correspond to a camera module 11 A provided with a single reflective module. After a path of incident light is changed once (for example, changed from L 1 to L 2 ), the incident light may be incident on an image sensor unit.
- a structure, which may rotate a reflective module in, in detail, a biaxial direction, is required to track a moving subject using a single reflective module or to effectively compensate for user hand-shake.
- biaxial rotation driving systems simultaneously coupled to the single reflective module should be provided to implement a rotation of the reflective module in a biaxial direction, resulting in an increase in structural complexity and an increase in overall height of the camera module.
- the camera module 11 B may be further provided with a component, which may change a path of incident light once more (that is, change the path from L 4 to L 5 after changing the path from L 3 to L 4 ), to have the same or further improved subject tracking effect while decreasing a height of the camera module 11 B (the camera module 11 B and L 3 , L 4 , and L 5 may respectively correspond to the camera module 1000 , the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction described with reference to FIG. 5 , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof refer to FIG. 5 ).
- the camera module 11 B includes a first driving part (for example, 1230 of FIG. 6A ), rotating about a first axis, and a second driving part (for example, 1330 of FIG. 8A ), rotating about a second axis, by dividing the rotation driving system.
- the path of the incident light may be various changed and a height (or a thickness) of the camera module 11 B may be decreased.
- FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a lens module 1500 on which light, emitted from a second reflective module ( 1300 of FIG. 5 ), is incident.
- the lens module 1500 may include a plurality of lenses for imaging a subject, and the plurality of lenses may be accommodated in a lens holder 1510 along an optical axis.
- the lens holder 1510 may be moved in an optical axis (Z-axis) direction to implement an autofocusing function or a zoom function.
- a third driving part 1530 may generate driving force to move the lens holder 1510 in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction. That is, the third driving part 1530 may move the lens holder 1510 to change a distance between the lens holder 1510 and a second reflective module ( 1300 of FIG. 5 ) or a distance between the lens holder 1510 and an image sensor unit 1900 .
- the third driving part 1530 may include at least one third magnet 1531 , at least one third coil 1532 disposed to face the at least one third magnet 1531 , and at least one third position sensing part 1533 provided to be adjacent to the third coil 1532 .
- the third driving part 1530 may generate driving force through an electromagnetic interaction between the third coil 1532 and the third magnet 1531 .
- the lens holder 1510 on which the at least one third magnet 1531 is mounted, may be moved in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction by an electromagnetic interaction between the at least one third magnet 1531 and the at least one third coil 1532 .
- the third magnet 1531 may be mounted on the lens holder 1510 .
- the third magnet 1531 may be mounted on a side surface of the lens holder 1510 .
- the third coil 1532 is mounted on the housing 1100 .
- a plurality of third coils 1532 may be mounted on the housing 1100 while being mounted on a main substrate (for example, 1800 of FIG. 5 ).
- the third position sensing part 1533 may be used for closed-loop control.
- the third position sensing part 1533 may be a Hall sensor.
- the third position sensing part 1533 is disposed inside or outside at least one of the third coils 1532 , and the third position sensing part 1533 may be mounted on the main substrate on which the third coil 1532 is mounted.
- the lens holder 1510 may be provided in the housing 1100 to move in an optical axis (for example, Z-axis) direction.
- at least one third ball member 1540 may be disposed between the lens holder 1510 and the housing 1100 .
- the third ball member 1540 may serve as a bearing to guide a movement of the lens holder 1510 .
- the third ball member 1540 may also serve to maintain a gap between the lens holder 1510 and the housing 1100 .
- the third ball member 1540 may move in a rolling motion or a sliding motion in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction to guide the movement of the lens holder 1510 .
- a seventh guide portion 1561 accommodating the third ball member 1540 , may be provided on at least one surface, among surfaces on which the lens holder 1510 and the housing 1100 face each other.
- the third ball member 1540 may be accommodated in the seventh guide portion 1561 to move in a sliding motion along a shape of the seventh guide portion.
- the seventh guide portion 1561 may have a shape having a length in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction.
- the movement of the third ball member 1540 may be limited in the other axes (X-axis and Y-axis) directions, perpendicular to the optical axis (Z-axis) direction, and permitted in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction while the third ball member 1540 is accommodated in the seventh guide portion 1561 .
- a cross-section of the seventh guide portion 1561 may have various shapes such as a curved shape, a polygonal shape, or the like.
- the lens holder 1510 may be pressed toward the housing 1100 such that the third ball member 1540 may be maintained in a state of contact with the lens holder 1510 and the housing 1100 .
- a third pulling yoke (not illustrated) may be mounted on a bottom surface of the housing 1100 to face the third magnet 1531 mounted on the lens holder 1510 .
- the third pulling yoke (not illustrated) may be a magnetic material. Attractive force may act between the third pulling yoke (not illustrated) and the third magnet 1531 . Accordingly, the lens holder 1510 may be moved in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction by the driving force of the third driving part 1530 while being in contact with the third ball member 1540 .
- the lens holder 1510 may be supported on the housing 1100 by the attractive force between the third pulling yoke (not illustrated) and the third magnet 1531 , but the lens holder 1510 may be removed by external force such as external impact to collide with other members inside the housing 1100 .
- a third auxiliary member 1570 may be provided to prevent the lens holder 1510 from moving outside a position thereof and to absorb an impact even when shake occurs due to external force.
- the third auxiliary member 1570 may be provided to have a ‘C’ shape, and both ends of the third auxiliary member 1570 may be fitted and fixed to the housing 1100 to cover the lens holder 1510 from above.
- the third auxiliary member 1570 may further include a damping member formed of an elastic material and provided in various portions to absorb impact. For example, a front or rear end portion in the optical axis direction may be in contact with the third auxiliary member 1570 during a movement of the lens holder 1510 in the optical axis direction. In this case, dampers may be provided on both end portions of the third auxiliary member 1570 to absorb the impact. In embodiments, two third auxiliary members 1570 may be provided to be respectively installed on both sides of the lens holder 1510 . Since the third auxiliary member 1570 serves as a stopper or a damper, the lens holder 1510 may be stably driven in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction. Accordingly, the lens module 1500 may perform an autofocusing function or a zoom function.
- a camera module according to embodiments and a portable electronic device including the same may have a simple structure and may be easily driven while implementing functions such as autofocusing, zoom, shake correction, PIP, and tracking functions.
- a path of incident light may be variously changed and a height (or a thickness) of the camera module may be decreased.
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Abstract
Description
- This application claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(a) of Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2020-0184682 filed on Dec. 28, 2020, 10-2021-0013274 filed on Jan. 29, 2021, and 10-2021-0039059 filed on Mar. 25, 2021, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
- The present disclosure relates to a reflective module assembly and a camera module including the same.
- Camera modules may be installed in portable electronic devices such as tablet personal computers (PCs), laptop PCs, and the like, as well as in smartphones. An autofocusing (AF) function, an optical image stabilization (OIS) function, a zoom function, and the like, may be implemented in camera modules for mobile terminals.
- In addition, a camera module may be provided with an actuator, directly moving a lens module, or indirectly moving a reflective module including a reflective member, to correct shake. In general, an actuator may move a lens module or a reflective module in a direction, intersecting an optical axis, with driving force generated by a magnet and a coil.
- Recently, there has been increasing demand for image or video capturing. In the related art, it may be difficult to precisely correct shake which may constantly occur during video capturing.
- In addition, when a subject to be captured moves during video capturing, there may be an inconvenience, in that a user should directly move a mobile communications terminal to set an image capturing direction of a camera module to the moving subject, and it may be difficult to accurately capture a video.
- The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.
- This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
- In one general aspect, a reflective module assembly includes a housing having an internal space, a first reflective module disposed in the housing configured to change a path of incident light, and a second reflective module disposed in the housing configured to change a path of light emitted from the first reflective module. The first reflective module includes a first reflective member rotatable about a first axis formed by at least two first ball members. The second reflective module includes a second reflective member rotatable about a second axis, perpendicular to the first axis and passing through a rotation axis ball disposed at the second reflective module.
- The first reflective module may include a first holder and the first reflective member may be disposed on the first holder. The at least two first ball members may be disposed between the first holder and the housing to rotatably support the first holder about the first axis. The second reflective module may include a second holder and the second reflective member may be disposed on the second holder. The rotation axis ball may be disposed between the second holder and the housing to rotatably support the second holder about the second axis.
- The housing may include a first support portion. The first holder may include a second support portion disposed on both side portions of the first holder in a direction of the first axis and disposed to face the first support portion. The at least two first ball members may be disposed between the first support portion and the second support portion to rotatably support the first holder.
- The first support portion may include a first guide portion supporting the at least two first ball members. The second support portion may include a second guide portion supporting the at least two first ball members in a position facing the first guide portion. At least one of the first guide portion and the second guide portion may be provided with an internal wall inclined to support the at least two first ball members at three or more points.
- The housing may include a third guide portion supporting the rotation axis ball. The second holder may include a fourth guide portion supporting the rotation axis ball in a position facing the third guide portion. At least one of the third guide portion and the fourth guide portion may include an internal wall inclined to support the rotation axis ball at three or more points.
- The second reflective module may include guide balls disposed between the housing and the second holder to guide rotation of the second holder.
- The housing may include a fifth guide portion supporting the guide balls. The second holder may include a sixth guide portion supporting the guide balls in a position facing the fifth guide portion. The guide balls may move in a rolling motion in at least one of the fifth guide portion and the sixth guide portion to guide rotation of the second holder.
- At least one of the fifth guide portion and the sixth guide portion may have a shape of an arc corresponding to a rotation path of the second holder.
- At least one of the fifth guide portion and the sixth guide portion may have an internal wall inclined to support the guide balls at two or more points.
- A first magnet may be disposed on both side surfaces of the first holder in a direction of the first axis. A first coil may be disposed on an internal sidewall of the housing facing the first magnet, and the first holder may be configured to be rotated about the first axis by an interaction of the first magnet and the first coil.
- A second magnet may be disposed on one surface of the second holder. At least one second coil may be disposed on a lower surface of the housing facing the second magnet, and the second holder may be configured to be rotated about the second axis by an interaction between the second magnet and the second coil.
- The second magnet may include one or more N-poles and one or more S-poles alternately magnetized in a rotational direction of the second holder.
- The reflective module assembly may further include a blocking member disposed between the first reflective module and the second reflective module to block a portion of incident light.
- In another general aspect, a reflective module assembly includes a first reflective member rotatable about a first axis and configured to change a path of incident light, and a second reflective member rotatable about a second axis and configured to change a path of light emitted from the first reflective member. The first reflective member is supported by first spheres forming the first axis, and the second reflective member is supported by second spheres forming the second axis. The number of the first spheres, forming the first axis, is different from the number of the second spheres forming the second axis.
- A camera module may include the reflective module assembly, a lens module comprising a plurality of lenses and configured to allow light, emitted from the second reflective member, to pass therethrough, and an image sensor on which the light passed through the lens module is incident.
- The first axis may be parallel to an optical axis of the lens module, and the second axis may intersect the optical axis of the lens module.
- In another general aspect, a reflective module assembly includes a housing, a first reflective member disposed in the housing and rotatable about a first axis, and a second reflective member disposed in the housing and configured to change a path of light emitted from the first reflective member and rotatable about a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, wherein the first reflective member and the second reflective member are supported in the housing in a direction parallel to the second axis on a same inside surface of the housing.
- Two or more first ball members may form the first axis, and the second axis may pass through a rotation axis ball.
- The first reflective member may be disposed in a first holder including a second support portion disposed on both side portions of the first holder in a direction of the first axis and disposed to face the first support portion. The two or more first ball members may be disposed between the first support portion and the second support portion to rotatably support the first holder.
- A camera module may include the reflective module assembly, a lens module comprising a plurality of lenses and configured to receive light emitted from the second reflective member, and an image sensor configured to receive light emitted from the lens module and convert the received light into an electrical signal.
- Other features and aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims.
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FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable electronic device according to one or more embodiments. -
FIG. 2 is a reference view illustrating an example of an image capturing field of view of a plurality of camera modules installed in a portable electronic device according to one or more embodiments. -
FIG. 3 is a reference view illustrating screen captures from a plurality of camera modules installed in a portable electronic device according to one or more embodiments. -
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a camera module according to one or more embodiments. -
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a camera module according to one or more embodiments. -
FIGS. 6A and 6B are exploded perspective views of a first reflective module according to one or more embodiments. -
FIGS. 6C to 6E are cross-sectional views of the first reflective module according to one or more embodiments. -
FIGS. 7A and 7B are reference views illustrating an example in which a ball member of a reflective module assembly according to one or more embodiments is fixed to support three points thereof on a guide portion. -
FIGS. 8A and 8B are exploded perspective views of a second reflective module according to one or more embodiments. -
FIGS. 8C to 8E are schematic plan views illustrating a state in which a second reflective module is coupled to a housing of a camera module including a reflective module assembly, according to one or more embodiments. -
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a second reflective module is coupled to a housing of a reflective module assembly. -
FIG. 10A is a top view illustrating the inside of a housing in a state in which some components of a first reflective module and a second module are omitted in a camera module according to one or more embodiments. -
FIG. 10B is a bottom view of a housing of a camera module according to one or more embodiments. -
FIG. 11 is a reference view illustrating an overall height of a camera module according to one or more embodiments. -
FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a lens module according to one or more embodiments. - Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements. The drawings may not be to scale, and the relative sizes, proportions, and depictions of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity, illustration, and convenience.
- The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein. However, various changes, modifications, and equivalents of the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein will be apparent after an understanding of this disclosure. For example, the sequences of operations described herein are merely examples, and are not limited to those set forth herein, but may be changed as will be apparent after gaining an understanding of this disclosure, with the exception of operations necessarily occurring in a certain order. Also, descriptions of features that are known in the art may be omitted for increased clarity and conciseness.
- The features described herein may be embodied in different forms, and are not to be construed as being limited to the examples described herein. Rather, the examples described herein have been provided merely to illustrate some of the many possible ways of implementing the methods, apparatuses, and/or systems described herein that will be apparent after an understanding of the disclosure of this application.
- It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it can be directly on, directly connected to, or directly coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element or layer is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present.
- Hereinafter, while embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is noted that examples are not limited to the same.
- As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any one and any combination of any two or more of the associated listed items; likewise, “at least one of” includes any one and any combination of any two or more of the associated listed items.
- Although terms such as “first,” “second,” and “third” may be used herein to describe various members, components, regions, layers, or sections, these members, components, regions, layers, or sections are not to be limited by these terms. Rather, these terms are only used to distinguish one member, component, region, layer, or section from another member, component, region, layer, or section. Thus, a first member, component, region, layer, or section referred to in examples described herein may also be referred to as a second member, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the examples.
- Spatially relative terms, such as “above,” “upper,” “below,” “lower,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the figures. Such spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, an element described as being “above,” or “upper” relative to another element would then be “below,” or “lower” relative to the other element. Thus, the term “above” encompasses both the above and below orientations depending on the spatial orientation of the device. The device may also be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations), and the spatially relative terms used herein are to be interpreted accordingly.
- The terminology used herein is for describing various examples only, and is not to be used to limit the disclosure. The articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “includes,” and “has” specify the presence of stated features, numbers, operations, members, elements, and/or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, operations, members, elements, and/or combinations thereof.
- Due to manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, variations of the shapes illustrated in the drawings may occur. Thus, the examples described herein are not limited to the specific shapes illustrated in the drawings, but include changes in shape that occur during manufacturing.
- The features of the examples described herein may be combined in various ways as will be apparent after an understanding of this disclosure. Further, although the examples described herein have a variety of configurations, other configurations are possible as will be apparent after an understanding of this disclosure.
- Herein, it is noted that use of the term “may” with respect to an embodiment or example, for example, as to what an embodiment or example may include or implement, means that at least one embodiment or example exists in which such a feature is included or implemented while all examples and embodiments are not limited thereto.
- An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a reflective module assembly, which may easily correct user hand-shake during still image capturing or video capturing, and a camera module including the same.
- Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a reflective module assembly, which may track a moving subject and may correct shake, and a camera module including the same.
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable electronic device 1 according to one or more embodiments. The portable electronic device 1 may be a mobile communications terminal, a smartphone, a tablet personal computer (PC), or the like. - As illustrated in
FIG. 1 , one ormore camera modules first camera module 1000 and asecond camera module 500. - When two or more camera modules are provided, a plurality of camera modules may be disposed on some surfaces of a portable electronic device in various manners. For example, as illustrated in
FIG. 1 , thefirst camera module 1000 and thesecond camera module 500 may be sequentially disposed on one surface of the portable electronic device 1 in a width direction (a relatively short side direction). However, this is only an example, and thefirst camera module 1000 and thesecond camera module 500 may be sequentially disposed in a length direction (a relatively long side direction) of the portable electronic device 1. - When two or
more camera modules more camera modules -
FIG. 2 is a reference view illustrating an example of an image capturing field of view of a plurality ofcamera modules - As illustrated in
FIG. 2 , afirst camera module 1000 and asecond camera module 500 may be configured to have different fields of view. For example, thefirst camera module 1000 illustrated in the right drawing ofFIG. 2 may be configured to have a relatively narrow field of view (for example, a telephoto camera), and thesecond camera module 500 illustrated in the left drawing ofFIG. 2 may be configured to have a relatively wide field of view (for example, a wide-angle camera). Thefirst camera module 1000 may correspond to a camera module to be described later with reference toFIGS. 4 to 11 . As an example, a field of view θ1 of thefirst camera module 1000 may be within a range of 9° to 35°, and a field of view θ2 of thesecond camera module 500 may be within a range of 60° to 120°. As described above, the fields of view of the two camera modules may be designed to be different from each other, so that an image of a subject may be captured with various fields of view. - The portable electronic device 1 according to embodiments may have a picture-in-picture (PIP) function. As an example, the portable electronic device 1 may display an image, captured by a camera module having a narrower field of view (for example, the first camera module 1000), in a region of an image captured by a camera module having a wider field of view (for example, the second camera module 500). For example, a subject of interest may be captured with a narrow field of view (resulting in an effect of magnifying the subject of interest), and may then be displayed in an image captured with a wide field of view.
- Since a subject of interest may move during video image capturing, a camera module having a narrower field of view (for example, the first camera module 1000) may include a reflective module (a folded module) rotated to capture a video along the movement of the subject of interest. Accordingly, light incident on the
first camera module 1000 may be reflected by a reflective member of the reflective module, and the reflected light may be incident on a lens module after an optical path is changed. - For example, the
first camera module 1000 may rotatably move the reflection module to track the movement of the subject of interest. As an example, the reflection module provided in thefirst camera module 1000 may be rotated about a first axis (for example, a Z-axis) or a second axis (for example, a Y-axis). Accordingly, thefirst camera module 1000 may correct shake which may occur during video capturing. The first axis (the Z-axis) and the second axis (the Y-axis) may refer to axes perpendicular to each other. -
FIG. 3 is a reference view illustrating screen captures from a plurality of camera modules installed in a portable electronic device according to one or more embodiments. - As illustrated in
FIG. 3 , the first camera module (1000 ofFIG. 1 ) and the second camera module (500 ofFIG. 1 ), installed in the portable electronic device (1 ofFIG. 1 ) according to the embodiments, may be different in range of capturable regions. For example, the second camera module (500 ofFIG. 1 ) having a relatively wide field of view may capture a subject having a relatively large area, and the first camera module (1000 ofFIG. 1 ) having a relatively narrow field of view may capture a subject having a relatively small area. In particular, the first camera module (1000 ofFIG. 1 ) may capture an internal region having a wide image capturing range W, captured by the second camera module (500 ofFIG. 1 ), in tele-image capturing ranges T1 to T9. Such an image (video), captured in the tele-image capturing ranges T1 to T9, may be displayed within the image (video) captured in the wide image capturing range W. Of course, the first camera module (1000 ofFIG. 1 ) may image a portion of an internal region of the wide image capturing range W to overlap an outside within the tele-image capturing ranges T1 to T9, or may image an external region of the wide image capturing range W. - The first camera module (1000 of
FIG. 1 ) is provided with a plurality of reflective modules (folded modules) rotating about the first axis (the Z-axis) or the second axis (the Y-axis) to change a path of incident light. Therefore, an image capturing angle of an image (video), captured by the first camera module (1000 ofFIG. 1 ), may be changed by rotation of a plurality of reflective modules about the first axis (the Z-axis) or the second axis (the Y-axis) to distort the captured image. For example, among the tele-image capturing ranges T1 to T9, illustrated in the reference view ofFIG. 3 , T1 to T4 and T6 to T9 represent the case in which an image is distorted by rotation of a reflective module. Accordingly, the camera module (500 or 1000 ofFIG. 1 ) or a portable electronic device may correct at least one of the tele-image capturing ranges T1 to T9, imaged by the first camera module (1000 ofFIG. 1 ), to convert the captured image into a distortion-free normal image. For example, the camera module (500 or 1000 ofFIG. 1 ) or the portable electronic device may correct an image within T1 to T4 or T6 to T9, captured by the first camera module (1000 ofFIG. 1 ), into an image having a rectangular shape, such as an image of T5. Such a correction may include image cropping or rectification using software. To implement such a function, the camera module (500 or 1000 ofFIG. 1 ) or the portable electronic device may include a controller for editing or correcting an image. - The first camera module (1000 of
FIG. 1 ) may include at least one reflective module assembly, and the reflective module assembly may include two or more reflective modules. - Hereinafter, a reflective module assembly including two or more reflective modules and a camera module including the reflective module assembly will be described in detail with reference to
FIGS. 4 to 12 . -
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of acamera module 1000 including a reflective module assembly according to one or more embodiments, andFIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of thecamera module 1000 including a reflective module assembly according to one or more embodiments. In the following description, the ‘camera module 1000’ refers to the first camera module (1000 ofFIG. 1 ) described above with reference toFIGS. 1 to 3 , unless otherwise specified. In addition, in the following description, the ‘camera module 1000’ refers to a camera module including a reflective module assembly according to one or more embodiments, unless otherwise specified. - Referring to
FIGS. 4 and 5 , thecamera module 1000 according to embodiments may include at least one reflective module assembly, alens module 1500, and animage sensor unit 1900. The reflective module assembly may include a plurality of reflective modules (folded modules) 1200 and 1300. InFIG. 5 , thecamera module 1000 is illustrated as having an integrated housing, but this is only an example and anentire camera module 1000 may be manufactured by coupling a sub-housing, in which a lens module (for example, 1500 ofFIG. 5 ) and an image sensor unit (for example, 1900 ofFIG. 5 ) are mounted, and a reflective module assembly according to embodiments (for example, a reflective assembly module including 1200 and 1300 ofFIG. 5 ) to each other. - For example, the
camera module 1000 may be manufactured by coupling thelens module 1500 and theimage sensor unit 1900 to the reflective module assembly according to the embodiments. Therefore, in the descriptions ofFIGS. 1 to 12 , embodiments will be described based on thecamera module 1000. However, since the first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ), the second reflective module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ), and a blocking member (1400 ofFIG. 5 ) are equally included in a reflective module assembly according to embodiments, the first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ), the second reflective module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ), and the blocking member (1400 ofFIG. 5 ) may be equally applied to the reflective module assembly according to embodiments. - Continuing to refer to
FIGS. 4 and 5 , thecamera module 1000 according to embodiments may include a plurality of reflective modules (folded modules) 1200 and 1300) provided in an internal space of thehousing 1100, alens module 1500, and animage sensor unit 1900. For example, in the internal space of thehousing 1100, a plurality ofreflective modules lens module 1500 to change a path of incident light, and animage sensor unit 1900 may be provided in the rear of thelens module 1500 such that an image is formed by the incident light. Theimage sensor unit 1900 may include an image sensor, converting light passing through a plurality of lenses into an electrical signal, and a printed circuit board (PCB) on which the image sensor is mounted. In addition, thehousing 1100 may be provided with a baffle in front or the rear of thelens module 1500 to block unnecessary light, which may be introduced into theimage sensor unit 1900, so as to reduce flare. As necessary, one or more baffles may be provided in the internal space of thehousing 1100. The baffle may be, for example, a blockingmember 1400 illustrated inFIG. 5 . - In embodiments, the
reflective modules camera module 1000 from above, in a thickness direction (for example, a Y-axis direction) of thecamera module 1000. An optical path of the incident light may be changed by the plurality ofreflective modules housing 1100. Then, the incident light may reach theimage sensor 1900 through thelens module 1500 in an optical axis (Z-axis) direction to be converted into an electrical signal. To change the optical path, the plurality ofreflective modules - At least two
reflective modules housing 1100 may correspond to the number ofreflective modules housing 1100. For example, when two or morereflective modules camera module 1000 until reaching theimage sensor unit 1900. -
FIG. 5 illustrates acamera module 1000 including a reflective module assembly provided with tworeflective modules - The first
reflective module 1200 may be provided in afirst space 1101 formed below anopening 1111 provided in an upper portion of ahousing 1100. A secondreflective module 1300 may be provided in asecond space 1102 adjacent to one side of thefirst space 1101. Alens module 1500 may be provided in athird space 1103 adjacent to one side of thesecond space 1102, and animage sensor unit 1900 may be provided in the rear of thelens module 1500. Accordingly, light incident through theopening 1111 formed in acover 1110 of thehousing 1100 may reach theimage sensor unit 1900 after sequentially passing through the firstreflective module 1200, the secondreflective module 1300, and thelens module 1500. - The first
reflective module 1200 may include a firstreflective member 1220, afirst holder 1210 supporting the firstreflective member 1220, afirst driving part 1230 driving thefirst holder 1210, and afirst ball member 1240 rotatably supporting thefirst holder 1210, and a first pullingmagnet 1250 pulling thefirst holder 1210 to thehousing 1100. Thefirst driving part 1230 may include afirst magnet 1231, provided in thefirst holder 1210, and afirst coil 1232 and a firstposition sensing part 1233 provided in thehousing 1100. - The second
reflective module 1300 may include a secondreflective member 1320, asecond holder 1310 supporting the secondreflective member 1320, asecond driving part 1330 driving thesecond holder 1310, asecond ball member 1340 rotatably supporting thesecond holder 1310, and aback yoke 1350 improving performance of thesecond driving part 1330. Thesecond driving part 1330 may include asecond magnet 1331, provided in thesecond holder 1310, and asecond coil 1332 and a secondposition sensing part 1333 provided in thehousing 1100. Thesecond ball member 1340 may include arotation axis ball 1341, forming a rotation axis of thesecond holder 1310, and aguide ball 1342 guiding a rotation of thesecond holder 1310. Since a rotation structure of the secondreflective module 1300 is different from a rotation structure of the firstreflective module 1200, the number of thesecond ball members 1340 may be different from the number of thefirst ball members 1240. - Each of the
first ball member 1240 and thesecond ball member 1340 may be provided in a spherical shape, but a shape thereof is not limited to being spherical. Each of thefirst ball member 1240 and thesecond ball member 1340 may be provided in a round shape to perform a rolling motion within a predetermined range. In the following description, thefirst ball member 1240 and thesecond ball member 1340 may respectively correspond to a first sphere and a second sphere, and thus descriptions thereof will be omitted. - As illustrated in
FIG. 5 , thehousing 1100 of thecamera module 1000 may be integrally formed to have afirst space 1101, asecond space 1102, and athird space 1103. The firstreflective module 1200, the secondreflective module 1300, and thelens module 1500 may be mounted in thefirst space 1101, thesecond space 1102, and thethird space 1103 of thehousing 1100, respectively. Theimage sensor unit 1900 may be provided in the rear of thelens module 1500. - However,
FIG. 5 is only an example, and thehousing 1100 may be formed by coupling a first sub-housing having thefirst space 1101, a second sub-housing having thesecond space 1102, and a third sub-housing having thethird space 1103. For example, the first sub-housing may define thefirst space 1101 and may include the firstreflective module 1200 therein, the second sub-housing may define thesecond space 1102 and may include the secondreflective member 1300 therein, and the third sub-housing may define thethird space 1103 and may include thelens module 1500 therein. - The first sub-housing, the second sub-housing, and the third sub-housing may be provided to be separate from each other, and may be coupled to each other to form the
housing 1100 of thecamera module 1000. For example, the first sub-housing and the second sub-housing may be coupled to be in contact with each other, and thus may be provided over thefirst space 1101 and thesecond space 1102, and an optical path change portion including the firstreflective module 1200 and the secondreflective module 1300 may be formed. In addition, the third sub-housing may be coupled to be in contact with the second sub-housing, and thus, incident light emitted from the optical path change portion including the firstreflective module 1200 and the secondreflective module 1300 may be incident on thelens module 1500 in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction. - In addition, the first sub-housing and the second sub-housing may be integrally provided to form a housing of the reflective module assembly according to embodiments. Accordingly, the first
reflective module 1200 and the secondreflective module 1300 may be provided inside the housing of the reflective module assembly in which the first sub-housing and the second sub-housing are integrally formed. The third sub-housing, in which thelens module 1500 is provided, may be assembled with the housing of the reflective module assembly to form thehousing 1100 according to embodiments as a whole. For example, incident light may change in a propagation path through the firstreflective module 1200 and the secondreflective module 1300, provided in the reflective module housing, and may be incident on theimage sensor 1900 via thelens module 1500 of the third sub-housing. - In some embodiments, a direction from the
first space 1101 to thesecond space 1102 and a direction from thesecond space 1102 to thethird space 1103 may be perpendicular to each other. Accordingly, thehousing 1100 may be formed to have an overall ‘L’ shape when viewed in a thickness direction (for example, a Y-axis direction). Due to the ‘L’ shape of which central portion is bent, the camera module according to embodiments may have an effect of reducing an overall length of thecamera module 1000 while maintaining the optical path to be long for a zoom function and a tracking function. - In some embodiments, a blocking
member 1400 for blocking unnecessary light may be provided between thefirst space 1101 and thesecond space 1102 in thehousing 1100 to reduce flare. The blockingmember 1400 may be a member disposed on the propagation path of the incident light and fitted into the internal space of thehousing 1100, and may reduce unnecessary light to prevent excessive reflection from occurring when the incident light passes through the internal space of thehousing 1100. - The blocking
member 1400 may be provided as a plate-shaped member having a region opened to allow light, starting from the subject, to pass therethrough. A plurality of projections (not illustrated) may be provided on an end portion of the opened region of the blockingmember 1400 to reduce flare caused by light reflection, diffraction, or the like. - A blocking member accommodating groove, in which the blocking
member 1400 is accommodated, may be provided on the internal surface of thehousing 1100 between thefirst space 1101 and thesecond space 1102. End portions of both sides of the blockingmember 1400 may be slid in one direction (for example, a Y-axis direction) along the blocking member accommodation groove to be coupled to the inside of thehousing 1100. As necessary, the blockingmember 1400 may be removed from thehousing 1100. - In some embodiments, one or
more blocking members 1400 may be provided between thefirst space 1101 and thesecond space 1102, as necessary. The blockingmember 1400 may be provided to reduce reflection or diffraction of unnecessary light which may occur while incident light is emitted from the firstreflective module 1200 and is then incident on the secondreflective module 1300. - Hereinafter, a change in a path of incident light by one or more
reflective modules camera module 1000 according to embodiments will be described in detail. Light may be incident into thehousing 1100 from a subject in a first direction (for example, a Y-axis direction), a thickness direction of thecamera module 1000. A propagation path of the incident light may be changed in the firstreflective module 1200 provided to face theopening 1111. The firstreflective module 1200 may include a first reflective member (1220 ofFIG. 6A ) to change the light propagation path. For example, the first reflective member (1220 ofFIG. 6A ) may be a first prism. Hereinafter, for ease of description, a component corresponding to the reflective member will be referred to as a prism. However, as mentioned above, a prism is an example of a reflective member, and any member (for example, a mirror, or the like) may be included in the reflective member described in some embodiments as long as it may diffract or reflect light to change a propagation path of the light. The light, incident in the thickness direction of thecamera module 1000, may be reflected by the first prism of the firstreflective module 1200 and may then be reflected in a second direction (for example, an X-axis direction) different from the first direction (for example, the Y-axis direction). Hereinafter, for ease of description, the light emitted from the firstreflective module 1200 will be referred to as first reflected light. The first reflected light may be incident on the secondreflective module 1300 provided in thehousing 1100 in the second direction (for example, the X-axis direction). The secondreflective module 1300 may include a second reflection member (1320 ofFIG. 8A ) to change the light propagation path. For example, the secondreflective member 1320 ofFIG. 8A may be a second prism. The first reflected light may be reflected from the second prism and may then be emitted in a third direction (for example, a Z-axis direction) different from the second direction (for example, X-axis direction), an incident direction. Hereinafter, the light emitted from the secondreflective module 1300 will be referred to as second reflected light. The incident light may be changed in propagation path in the order of the first, second, and third directions while sequentially passing through thefirst reflection module 1200 and thesecond reflection module 1300, and may finally be incident on thelens module 1500 in the third direction. - Light, having a propagation path changed by the first
reflective module 1200 and the secondreflective module 1300, may be incident on thelens module 1500. Therefore, a plurality of lenses provided in thelens module 1500 may be stacked in the third direction (for example, the Z-axis direction), a direction in which the light is emitted from the secondreflective module 1300. Thelens module 1500 may be moved in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction to implement autofocusing (AF) function, a zoom functions, and the like. - The light emitted from the
lens module 1500 may reach theimage sensor unit 1900 disposed in the rear of thelens module 1500. Theimage sensor unit 1900 may convert the incident light into an electrical signal, and may transmit the electrical signal to an outside of thecamera module 1000. - A
main substrate 1800 may be provided on a side surface of thehousing 1100. Themain substrate 1800 may be electrically connected to the firstreflective module 1200, the secondreflective module 1300, thelens module 1500, and theimage sensor unit 1900 to transmit and receive an electrical signal thereto and therefrom. - The internal space of the
housing 1100 may be covered with thecover 1110. Thecover 1110 may have anopening 1111 allowing light to be incident therethrough. The light, incident through theopening 1111, may be changed in propagation direction by the firstreflective module 1200 and the secondreflective module 1300 to be incident on thelens module 1500. Thecover 1110 may be integrally provided to cover theentire housing 1100 or may be provided with divided members, respectively covering thereflective modules lens module 1500. - When a still image or video is captured, the reflective members, respectively provided in the first
reflective module 1200 and the secondreflective module 1300, may be rotated and moved to track a moving subject. As the reflective members (1220 ofFIG. 6A and 1320 ofFIG. 8A ) provided in the plurality ofreflective modules lens module 1500. Accordingly, the path of the incident light may be changed several times to decrease a size of the camera module, which can be reduced while forming the path of the incident light to be long. Hereinafter, the firstreflective module 1200 and the secondreflective module 1300 provided in a reflective module assembly according to embodiments and a camera module including the same will be described in detail. -
FIGS. 6A and 6B are exploded perspective views of a firstreflective module 1200 according to one or more embodiments,FIGS. 6C to 6E are cross-sectional views illustrating rotation of the firstreflective module 1200 at a predetermined angle while being inserted into ahousing 1100.FIGS. 7A and 7B are reference views illustrating an example in which aball member 40 of a camera module is fixed to support three points thereof on aguide portion 30. - As illustrated in
FIG. 6A , the firstreflective module 1200 may be provided to be inserted into thehousing 1100, and may include afirst holder 1210 fixedly provided with a firstreflective member 1220, at least twofirst ball members 1240 inserted into thefirst holder 1210 and forming a first axis A1, a rotation axis of thefirst holder 1210, first drivingparts 1230, respectively provided on both side surfaces of thefirst holder 1210 to rotate thefirst holder 1210 about the first axis A1, and a first pullingmagnet 1250 pressing thefirst holder 1210 in a direction of the lower surface of thehousing 1100. Thefirst driving part 1230 may include afirst magnet 1231 and afirst coil 1232, magnetically interacting with each other, and a firstposition sensing part 1233 sensing the amount of rotation of thefirst holder 1210. In embodiments, the first axis A1 may be formed to be parallel to an optical axis of the lens module (for example, 1500 ofFIG. 5 ). - Hereinafter, a detailed configuration of the first
reflective module 1200 will be described. The firstreflective module 1200 corresponds to the firstreflective module 1200 described above with reference toFIG. 5 , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. - The first
reflective module 1200 may include a firstreflective member 1220 which may change a path of incident light. In embodiments, the firstreflective member 1220 may be fixed to thefirst holder 1210, and a propagation direction of the incident light may be changed from a first direction (for example, a Y-axis direction) to a second direction (for example, an X-axis direction). For example, the firstreflective member 1220 may be a mirror or a prism reflecting light (for ease of description, the firstreflective member 1220 is illustrated as having a prismatic shape in the drawings related to one embodiment). The firstreflective member 1220 may include achamfer 1221, in which a corner of the firstreflective member 1220 is cut, to reduce flare. A light blocking film may be attached to thechamfer 1221, or a light blocking pigment may be coated on thechamfer 1221. Some surfaces of the firstreflective member 1220 may be provided with a reflective surface to change a path of light. A propagation path of light, incident on the firstreflective member 1220 from an external subject in the first direction (for example, the Y-axis direction), may be changed to the second direction (for example, the X-axis direction) after the incident light passes through the reflective surface of the firstreflective member 1220. A blockingmember 1400, which may block unnecessary light, may be provided on the propagation path of the light emitted by changing the propagation path of the firstreflective member 1220 in the firstreflective member 1220. - The
first holder 1210 may be provided to be rotatable about the first axis A1, formed by thefirst ball member 1240, while fixing the firstreflective member 1220. Rotational energy for rotating thefirst holder 1210 may be generated by thefirst driving part 1230 provided on the side surface of thefirst holder 1210. - The
first holder 1210 may have a mounting surface on which the firstreflective member 1220 is mounted. The mounting surface of thefirst holder 1210 may be provided as a surface inclined to change a path of light. For example, the mounting surface may be an inclined surface inclined at an angle of 30 degrees to 60 degrees with respect to an incident direction of incident light (for example, a Y-axis direction). - In some embodiments, the
first holder 1210 may include a plurality ofprojections 1211 disposed in an end portion, from which incident light is reflected to be emitted, and protruding toward the firstreflective member 1220 to reduce flare generated by light reflection, diffraction, or the like. An end portion of theprojection 1211 may be formed to be sharp, and theprojection 1211 may be provided over a predetermined region of an end portion of the mounting surface. - The
first holder 1210 may be supported while being spaced apart from the lower surface of thehousing 1100 in the state in which twofirst ball members 1240 are fitted between thefirst holder 1210 and thehousing 1100. Since thefirst holder 1210 is spaced apart from thehousing 1100 at a predetermined interval in the state in which the sphericalfirst ball member 1240 is fitted between thefirst holder 1210 and thehousing 1100, thefirst holder 1210 may rotate about a first axis A1 (for example, an axis parallel to a Z-axis, an optical axis) interconnecting the twofirst ball members 1240. - The
first ball member 1240 may be fixed by afirst support portion 1261, provided in thehousing 1100, and asecond support portion 1262, formed to face thefirst support portion 1261 in both side portions of thefirst holder 1210, to form the first axis A1. For example, the twofirst ball members 1240 of which positions are fixed with respect to thehousing 1100 may be interconnected to form the first axis A1. - For example, as illustrated in
FIG. 6C , thefirst ball member 1240 may be inserted to be fixed between thesecond support portion 1262 of thefirst holder 1210 and thefirst support portion 1261 of thehousing 1100. More specifically, thefirst ball member 1240 may be inserted between thefirst guide portion 1261 a of thefirst support portion 1261 and thesecond guide portion 1262 a of thesecond support portion 1262 to fix a position of thefirst ball member 1240 with respect to thehousing 1100. - Each of the
first holder 1210 and thehousing 1100 may be selectively provided with a pulling magnet or a pulling yoke to closely support thefirst holder 1210 to thehousing 1100 while fitting thefirst ball member 1240 on thefirst holder 1210. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 6A , the first pullingmagnet 1250 may be provided in a region of thefirst holder 1210, and a first pulling yoke (for example, 1270 ofFIG. 10A ) may be provided in a region, facing the first pullingmagnet 1250, of an internal surface of thehousing 1100. However, the illustrated content is only an example. In contrast, a first pulling magnet may be provided on the internal surface of thehousing 1100, and a first pulling yoke may be provided on thefirst holder 1210. Alternatively, pulling magnets may be disposed on all facing surfaces of thefirst holder 1210 and thehousing 1100. In embodiments, the first pullingmagnet 1250 may be provided on a plane defined by the first axis A1. For example, the first pullingmagnet 1250 may be provided on a plane, including the first axis A1 and extending in a direction perpendicular to a bottom surface of thehousing 1100, such that at least a portion of the first pullingmagnet 1250 overlaps the plane. That is, inFIG. 6A , the first pullingmagnet 1250 and the first axis A1 may be aligned on one plane parallel to a Y-Z plane. Attractive force may act between the first pullingmagnet 1250 and the first pullingyoke 1270, and a central point of the attractive force may be disposed on the Y-Z plane including the first axis A1. Accordingly, the attractive force generated by the first pullingmagnet 1250 may be applied to thefirst holder 1210 in a direction, perpendicular to and intersecting the first axis A1. The attractive force of the first pullingmagnet 1250 and the first pulling yoke (1270 ofFIG. 10A ) may allow thefirst holder 1210 to be closely supported by a lower surface of thehousing 1100 while maintaining a predetermined distance between thefirst holder 1210 and the lower surface of thehousing 1100. - The
first holder 1210 may be rotated about the first axis A1 by electromagnetic force generated by thefirst driving part 1230. Thefirst driving part 1230 may includefirst magnets 1231, respectively provided on both sides of thefirst holder 1210, afirst coil 1232 provided on an internal sidewall of thehousing 1100 facing thefirst magnet 1231, and a firstposition sensing part 1233 provided to be adjacent to thefirst coil 1232 and sensing the amount of rotation of thefirst holder 1210. - The
first magnet 1231 may include an N-pole and an S-pole aligned in a direction, perpendicular to the first axis A1. For example, a surface of thefirst magnet 1231, facing thefirst coil 1232, may have an N-pole and an S-pole in the Y-axis direction. The N-pole and the S-pole of thefirst magnet 1231 may allow thefirst holder 1210 to be rotated by an electromagnetic interaction with thefirst coil 1232. - The
first magnet 1231 may be disposed as far as possible from the first axis A1 to significantly increase rotational torque. To this end, in some embodiments, a firstmagnet accommodation portions 1260 protruding in a direction perpendicular to the first axis A1 (for example, the X-axis direction) may be provided on both sides of thefirst holder 1210. That is, since the firstmagnet accommodation portion 1260 is formed to protrude in a direction away from the first axis A1, a rotation axis, large rotational force may be generated while maintaining a size and a weight of thefirst holder 1210. - In embodiments, a first back yoke (not illustrated) may be provided between the
first magnet 1231 and thefirst holder 1210 to maintain or improve performance of thefirst magnet 1231. The first back yoke (not illustrated) may have an area corresponding to or larger than an area of thefirst magnet 1231. - The
first coil 1232 may be provided in a position facing thefirst magnet 1231 on the internal sidewall of thehousing 1100. Thefirst coil 1232 may receive an electrical signal, including current, from a main substrate (for example, 1800 ofFIG. 5 ) provided on a sidewall of thehousing 1100. When current is supplied to thefirst coil 1232, the current of thefirst coil 1232 and a magnetic field of thefirst magnet 1231 may electromagnetically interact with each other to generate a rotational torque rotating thefirst holder 1210 about the first axis A1. In embodiments, a first reflective module may be provided to be rotatable about the first axis A1 by about ±10 degrees (that is, a total of about 20 degrees). - In embodiments, as illustrated in
FIG. 6A , the firstposition sensing part 1233 may be provided to be adjacent to thefirst coil 1232. Also, the firstposition sensing part 1233 may be disposed to face thefirst magnet 1231. In embodiments, the firstposition sensing part 1233 may be provided outside of thefirst coil 1232. Accordingly, the firstposition sensing part 1233 may accurately sense a position of thefirst holder 1210 without being affected by the magnetic field generated by thefirst coil 1232. However, the position of the firstposition sensing part 1233 is not limited to the outside of thefirst coil 1232. For example, the firstposition sensing part 1233 may be disposed inside thefirst coil 1232, or may be disposed outside the first coil in a direction away from the first axis A1. - In embodiments, as illustrated in
FIG. 6A , at least one firstposition sensing part 1233 may be provided on each side of thefirst holder 1210 to accurately sense the amount of rotation of thefirst holder 1210. However,FIG. 6A is only an example, and a plurality of firstposition sensing parts 1233 may be provided on both sides of thefirst holder 1210 in a rotational direction of thefirst holder 1210. - In embodiments, the first
reflective module 1200 may be controlled in a closed loop control manner in which the firstposition sensing part 1233 senses the degree of rotation of thefirst holder 1210 and feedbacks the sensed degree to thefirst driving part 1230. The firstposition sensing part 1233 may be a Hall sensor. Also, the firstposition sensing part 1233 may include an additional sensing magnet. - In embodiments, at least one first
position sensing part 1233 may be provided on both side surfaces of thefirst holder 1210. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 6A , a single firstposition sensing part 1233 may be provided on both sides of thefirst holder 1210 outside thefirst coil 1232. In this case, two firstposition sensing parts 1233 may be provided to be spaced apart from the first axis A1 at the same distance. Since the firstposition sensing part 1233 is provided on both sides of thefirst holder 1210, the accurate amount of rotation may be measured even when thefirst holder 1210 is offset or tilted to one side. -
FIGS. 6C to 6E are each cross-sectional views taken along line I-I′ ofFIG. 4 . As illustrated inFIGS. 6C to 6E , thefirst holder 1210 may rotate about a first axis (for example, an axis orthogonal to an X axis and a Y axis ofFIG. 6C ) in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The first axis corresponds to the first axis A1 described with reference toFIGS. 6A and 6B , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. - The
housing 1100 may include a firstreflective module 1200 and a secondreflective module 1300 therein. Afirst holder 1210 of the firstreflective module 1200 may be supported by afirst support portion 1261 with afirst ball member 1240 interposed therebetween. A firstmagnet accommodation portion 1260 and afirst magnet 1231 may be provided on a side surface of thefirst holder 1210. Thefirst holder 1210 may be rotated about the first axis (for example, the axis orthogonal to the X axis and the Y axis ofFIG. 6C ), a rotation axis, in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction by thefirst driving part 1230. Afirst guide portion 1261 a may be provided with afirst support portion 1261 and asecond support portion 1262 may be provided with asecond guide portion 1262 a to fix a position of thefirst ball member 1240 and to stably rotate thefirst ball member 1240. -
FIG. 6C illustrates a state in which thefirst holder 1210 is horizontally supported with respect to thehousing 1100 by thefirst support portion 1261 of thehousing 1100.FIG. 6D illustrates a shape when thefirst holder 1210 maximally rotates about a first axis (an axis orthogonal to an X-axis and a Y-axis), a rotation axis formed by thefirst ball member 1240, in a counterclockwise direction.FIG. 6E illustrates a shape when thefirst holder 1210 maximally rotates about a first axis (an axis orthogonal to an X-axis and a Y-axis), a rotation axis formed by thefirst ball member 1240, in a clockwise direction. - As described above, the
first support portion 1261 of thehousing 1100 may be provided with a first guide portion (for example, 1261 a ofFIG. 6C ) and thesecond support portion 1262 of thefirst holder 1210 may be provided with thesecond guide portion 1262 a such that thefirst ball member 1240 is inserted therebetween. Since the sphericalfirst ball member 1240 should not be moved, at least one of thefirst guide portion 1261 a and thesecond guide portion 1262 a may be inclined to support at least three points thereof on thefirst ball member 1240. Hereinafter, a support structure of thefirst ball member 1240 will be described in detail with reference toFIGS. 7A and 7B . -
FIGS. 7A and 7B are reference views illustrating an example in which aball member 40 of a reflective module assembly (for example, the firstreflective module 1200 and the second reflective module 1300) according to embodiments is fixed to support three points thereof on aguide portion 30. Theball member 40 corresponds to the first ball member ofFIGS. 6A to 6E and theguide portion 30 corresponds to thefirst guide portion 1261 a or thesecond guide portion 1262 a ofFIGS. 6A to 6E , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. - Since a position of the
ball member 40 forming a rotation axis cannot be moved, the position may be fixed by the three-point supporting structure. In embodiments, theball member 40 may be inserted into theguide portion 30. - The
ball member 40, inserted into theguide portion 30, may be maintained to be in contact with and supported by theguide portion 30 at three points P to maintain an accurate position inside theguide portion 30. When theball member 40 is in contact with theguide portion 30 at four or more points, the ball guide 40 may be driven while being offset to one side, for example, a contact may be formed at only three points, depending on a manufacturing tolerance or a driving state of theguide portion 30 or theball member 40. To address such an issue, theguide portion 30 may be provided to have a shape formed by cutting each corner of a triangular pyramid (tetrahedron). Theguide portion 30 includes threefirst surfaces 21 such that thespherical ball member 40 may supported at three points P by an internal side surface of theguide portion 30. Therefore, three contact points P of theball member 40 and theguide portion 30 may be formed on thefirst surface 21. Thefirst surface 21 may be a portion of the side surface, and the side surface may be provided between afirst surface 21 and afirst surface 21 with which theball member 40 is in contact (that is, provided to be adjacent to two of the first surfaces 21) and may include asecond surface 23 which is not in contact with theball member 40. When three side surfaces (three first surfaces 21) which are each in point contact with theball member 40 extend, a triangular pyramid (a tetrahedron) may be implemented. For example, a line segment formed by extending the three side surfaces in point contact with theball member 40 to intersect each other may implement a corner of a triangular pyramid (a tetrahedron). In addition, a triangular pyramid implemented by extending three side surfaces may be an equilateral triangular pyramid. - The
guide portion 30 may be provided to have a shape formed by cutting each vertex of a triangular pyramid (tetrahedron). A portion of the triangular pyramid formed by cutting an internal corner of theguide portion 30 may form a bottom 10 of theguide portion 30, and portions formed by cutting the other three corners of an entrance of the guide portion may form thesecond surface 23 of the side surfaces not in contact with theball member 40. As the bottom 10 and thesecond surface 23 are formed by cutting corners of the triangular pyramid, each of the bottom 10 and thesecond surface 23 may have a triangular shape and theball member 40 may not be in contact with the bottom 10 and thesecond surface 23. The entrance of theguide portion 30 may have a hexagonal shape because theguide portion 30 is formed by cutting all corners of the triangular bottom of the triangular pyramid (tetrahedron). The bottom of theguide portion 30 may have a triangular shape. - Since the
ball member 40 of the camera module is supported at three points by theguide portion 30 and is stably fixed to form a rotation axis, a position of the rotation axis is always fixed with respect to thehousing 1100. Accordingly, the firstreflective module 1200 may stably rotate about the first axis A1. - As illustrated in
FIGS. 8A and 8B , the secondreflective module 1300 may be provided to be inserted into thehousing 1100, and may include asecond holder 1310 fixedly provided with a secondreflective member 1320, arotation axis ball 1341 provided on a lower surface of thesecond holder 1310 to form a second axis B1, a rotation axis of thesecond holder 1310, asecond driving part 1330 provided on the lower surface of thesecond holder 1310 to rotate thesecond holder 1310 about the second axis B1, and a second pullingyoke 1370 pressing thesecond holder 1310 in a direction of a lower surface of a housing (for example, 1100 ofFIG. 5 ). For example, the second pullingyoke 1370 may be a pulling magnet magnetically interacting with thesecond magnet 1331. Thesecond driving part 1330 may include asecond magnet 1331 and asecond coil 1332, electromagnetically interacting with each other, and a secondposition sensing part 1333 sensing the amount of rotation of thesecond holder 1310. - In embodiments, the second axis B1 may be perpendicular to a first axis (A1 of
FIG. 6A ), a rotation axis of the first reflective member (for example, 1220 ofFIG. 6A ). For example, the second axis B1 may be formed to be perpendicular to the first axis (A1 inFIG. 6A ) and to intersect an optical axis of the lens module (for example, 1500 inFIG. 5 ). - Hereinafter, a configuration of the second
reflective module 1300 will be described in detail with reference toFIGS. 8A and 8B . - The second
reflective module 1300 may include a secondreflective member 1320 which may change a path of the incident light. In embodiments, the secondreflective member 1320 may be fixedly provided on thesecond holder 1310, and may change a propagation direction of the incident light from a second direction (for example, an X-axis direction) to a third direction (for example, a Z-axis direction). For example, the secondreflective member 1320 may be a mirror or a prism reflecting light (for ease of description, the secondreflective member 1320 is illustrated as having a prismatic shape in the drawings related to one embodiment). The secondreflective member 1320 may include a chamfer (not illustrated), in which a corner of the secondreflective member 1320 is cut, to reduce flare. A light blocking film may be attached to the chamfer (not illustrated), or a light blocking pigment may be coated on the chamfer (not illustrated). Some surfaces of the secondreflective member 1320 may be provided with a reflective surface to change a path of light. - In embodiments, an incident surface of the second
reflective member 1320 and an emission surface of the first reflective member (for example, 1220 ofFIG. 6A ) may be provided to face each other. For example, light emitted from the first reflective member (1220 ofFIG. 6A ) in the second direction (for example, the X-axis direction) may be incident on the incident surface of the secondreflective member 1320 through a blockingmember 1400 provided in thehousing 1100. The light, incident on the secondreflective member 1320, may be emitted through the reflective surface of the secondreflective member 1320 after a propagation path of the secondreflective member 1320 is changed to a third direction (for example, a Z-axis direction). The light, emitted in the third direction (for example, the Z-axis direction), may be incident on a lens module (for example, 1500 ofFIG. 5 ) provided to be adjacent to the secondreflective module 1300. The second direction (for example, the X-axis direction) and the third direction (for example, the Z-axis direction) correspond to the second and third directions described with reference toFIGS. 4 and 5 , and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. - The
second holder 1310 may have a mountingsurface 1311 on which the secondreflective member 1320 is mounted. The mountingsurface 1311 of thesecond holder 1310 may be provided as a surface inclined to change a path of light. For example, the mountingsurface 1311 may be an inclined surface inclined by 30 degrees to 60 degrees with respect to an incident direction of the incident light (for example, the X-axis direction). - In embodiments, a plurality of projections (not illustrated), protruding toward the second
reflective member 1320, may be provided on an end portion, on which incident light is reflected and incident, of thesecond holder 1310 to reduce flare caused by light reflection, diffraction, or the like. An end portion of the protrusion (not illustrated) may be formed to be sharp, and the protrusion (not illustrated) may be provided over a predetermined region of an end portion of the mounting surface. - The
second holder 1310 may be provided to fix the secondreflective member 1320 and to be rotatable about an axis fixed with respect to thehousing 1100. In embodiments, thesecond holder 1310 may be supported while being spaced apart from a lower surface of thehousing 1100 in the state in which a singlerotation axis ball 1341 is fitted between thesecond holder 1310 and thehousing 1100. Since thesecond holder 1310 is spaced apart from a bottom of thehousing 1100 with the sphericalrotation axis ball 1341 interposed therebetween, thesecond holder 1310 may rotate about a second axis B1 (for example, an axis parallel to a Y-axis intersecting an optical axis) formed to be perpendicular to a bottom surface of thehousing 1100. In embodiments, at least a portion of thesecond holder 1310 may be provided in a round shape to facilitate rotation of thesecond holder 1310. More specifically, at least a portion of thesecond holder 1310 may be provided to correspond to a shape of an arc having the second axis B1 as a center. Hereinafter, the rotation of thesecond holder 1310 will be described in more detail. - The
second holder 1310 may be supported while maintaining a predetermined distance from the bottom surface of thehousing 1100 by at least threesecond ball members 1340 provided on the lower surface of thesecond holder 1310. For example, the secondreflective module 1300 including threesecond ball members 1340 is illustrated inFIG. 8A . As illustrated in the drawing, since thesecond holder 1310 is supported at three points by the threesecond ball members 1340, thesecond holder 1310 may be supported without being inclined to one side. For example, thesecond holder 1310 may be supported while being maintained to be parallel to the bottom surface of thehousing 1100. - The
second ball member 1340 may include onerotation axis ball 1341 and twoguide balls 1342. Therotation axis ball 1341 may form the second axis B1, a rotation axis of thesecond holder 1310, while being fitted between the lower surface of thesecond holder 1310 and thehousing 1100. Theguide ball 1342 may be provided on the lower surface of thesecond holder 1310 in a position, spaced apart from the second axis B1, to guide the rotation of thesecond holder 1310. The second axis B1 may be an axis, perpendicular to a plane including a triangle extending from the rotatingaxis ball 1341 to connect the threesecond ball members 1340. - In embodiments, the number of the
second ball members 1340 including therotation axis ball 1341 forming the second axis B1 may be different from the number of the first ball member (for example, 1240 ofFIG. 6A ) and each other. For example, the first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ) and the secondreflective module 1300 according to embodiments may form rotation axes in different directions through different numbers ofball members - To insert the
rotation axis ball 1341, thehousing 1100 may be provided with a third guide portion (for example, 1361 a ofFIG. 8A ) and thesecond holder 1310 may be provided with a fourth guide portion (for example, 1362 a ofFIG. 8B ). Since a position of the sphericalrotation axis ball 1341 should be fixed, at least one of the third guide portion (1361 a ofFIG. 8A ) and the fourth guide portion (1362 a ofFIG. 8B ) may be inclined to support therotation axis ball 1341 at three points. For example, the third guide portion (1361 a ofFIG. 8A ) or the fourth guide portion (1362 a ofFIG. 8B ) may be provided to have a shape formed by cutting each corner from a triangular pyramid (tetrahedron), as illustrated inFIGS. 7A and 7B . A shape of a portion, in which therotation axis ball 1341 is accommodated, in the third guide portion (1361 a ofFIG. 8A ) and the fourth guide portion (1362 a ofFIG. 8B ), may be the same as a shape of a portion, in which the first ball member (for example, 1262 a ofFIG. 6C ) is accommodated, in the first guide portion (for example, 1261 a ofFIG. 6C ) and the second guide portion (for example, 1262 a ofFIG. 6C ), and thus a detailed description thereof may refer to the descriptions ofFIGS. 6A to 6E andFIGS. 7A and 7B . - In embodiments, to insert the
guide ball 1342, thehousing 1100 may be provided with a fifth guide portion (for example, 1363 a ofFIG. 8A ) and thesecond holder 1310 may be provided with a sixth guide portion (1364 a ofFIG. 8B ). Since thespherical guide ball 1342 moves in, in detail, a rolling motion in a rotational direction of thesecond holder 1310, to move a position of theguide ball 1342, the fifth guide portion (1363 a ofFIG. 8A ) and the sixth guide portion (1364 a ofFIG. 8B ) may be provided to be long in the rotational direction of thesecond holder 1310. The fifth guide portion (1363 a ofFIG. 8A ) or the sixth guide portion (1364 a ofFIG. 8B ) may be provided to have various shapes. For example, at least one of the fifth guide portion (1363 a ofFIG. 8A ) and the sixth guide portion (1364 a ofFIG. 8B ) may be provided to have a shape of an arc corresponding to the rotation path of thesecond holder 1310. Alternatively, in embodiments, at least one of the fifth guide portion (1363 a ofFIG. 8A ) and the sixth guide portion (1364 a ofFIG. 8B ) may be provided to have a shape of a straight line in contact with the rotation path of thesecond holder 1310. When at least one of the fifth guide portion (1363 a ofFIG. 8A ) and the sixth guide portion (1364 a ofFIG. 8B ) is provided to have a shape of a straight line, a guide portion having a shape of a straight line may be provided such that theguide ball 1342 has an additional degree of freedom. This is because theguide ball 1342 supports the rotatingsecond holder 1310, so that a guide operation may not be properly performed when a guide portion is provided to simply move in a direction of a straight line. - The
guide ball 1342 according to embodiments may be supported by at least two points in one of the fifth guide portion (1363 a ofFIG. 8A ) and the sixth guide portion (1364 a ofFIG. 8B ) and may be supported by at least one point in the other thereof. Thus, theguide ball 1342 may move in a rolling motion. - Hereinafter, a structure in which at least one of the fifth guide portion (1363 a of
FIG. 8A ) and the sixth guide portion (1364 a ofFIG. 8B ) supports theguide ball 1342 will be described in detail. -
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a secondreflective module 1300 is coupled to ahousing 1100 according to embodiments. - Referring to
FIG. 9 , arotation portion 72, rotating relative to a fixedportion 71 about a rotation axis, may be guided by aguide ball 1342. In this case, the fixedportion 71 may correspond to a certain region of the bottom surface of the internal space of thehousing 1100 described with reference toFIGS. 4 to 8B , and therotation portion 72 may correspond to a region of the lower surface of thesecond holder 1310 described with reference toFIGS. 4 to 8B , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. - Referring to
FIG. 9 , afifth guide portion 1363 a may have a V-shaped or U-shaped groove opened in an upward direction from a lower surface of the fixedportion 71. Theguide ball 1342 may be inserted into thefifth guide portion 1363 a and may be in contact with V-shaped or U-shaped bothsides 25 a to be supported at two or more points. Alternatively, theguide ball 1342 may also be in contact with abottom surface 26 a to be supported at three or more points. - A
sixth guide portion 1364 a may have a groove opened in a downward direction of therotation portion 72 in a portion opposing thefifth guide portion 1363 a. In thesixth guide portion 1364 a, theguide ball 1342 may not be in contact with aside surface 25 b of thesixth guide portion 1364 a and may be supported by abottom surface 26 b of thesixth guide portion 1364 a at one point. Accordingly, a ball may move right and left along thebottom surface 26 b without restriction of aside surface 25 b in a guide portion supported at only one point by thebottom surface 26 b of thesixth guide portion 1364 a, so that thesixth guide portion 1364 a may have an additional degree of freedom to allow theguide ball 1342 to smoothly move in a rolling motion even when therotation portion 72 is rotationally moved. - When the
guide ball 1342 is in contact with either one of the side surfaces 25 b, theguide ball 1342 cannot move in a rolling motion in a direction toward the rotation axis (or in a direction away from the rotation axis). Therefore, the side surfaces 25 b may serve as a stopper. - As described above, the
guide ball 1342 may be supported at two or more points in thefifth guide portion 1363 a, provided in the fixedportion 71, to move in a rolling motion along a predetermined path of theguide portions sixth guide portion 1364 a provided in therotation portion 72. Theguide ball 1342, supported at one point, may move in a rolling motion with a predetermined degree of freedom on a guide portion bottom 26 b of therotation portion 72 as therotation portion 72 moves, and thus may form a moving path. Accordingly, theguide ball 1342 may properly guide the rotation path while maintaining a small friction force, during the rotational movement of the rotating portion. - However, the description of the above-described
fifth guide portion 1363 a and thesixth guide portion 1364 a is an example. On the contrary, thesixth guide portion 1364 a may have a V-shaped or U-shaped groove opened in a downward direction of thesecond holder 1310. In this case, theguide ball 1342 may be provided to be supported at two or more points by thesixth guide portion 1364 a, and thefifth guide portion 1363 a may be provided such that theguide ball 1342 is supported at one or more points. - Returning to
FIG. 8A , thesecond holder 1310 may be rotated about the second axis B1 by electromagnetic force generated from thesecond magnet 1331 and thesecond coil 1332 of thesecond driving part 1330. In embodiments, thesecond driving part 1330 may include asecond magnet 1331 provided on a lower surface of thesecond holder 1310, at least onesecond coil 1332 provided on a lower surface of thehousing 1100 facing thesecond magnet 1331, and a secondposition sensing part 1333 provided to be adjacent to thesecond coil 1332 and sensing the amount of rotation of thesecond holder 1310. The secondposition sensing part 1333 may be provided as at least one secondposition sensing part 1333. For example, the secondposition sensing part 1333 may be provided as at least two secondposition sensing parts 1333 to accurately sense the amount of rotation of thesecond holder 1310. Accordingly, the amount of rotation of thesecond holder 1310 may be stably sensed even when an impact is applied from an outside of the secondreflective module 1300. In embodiments, the secondposition sensing part 1333 may be provided inside thesecond coil 1332. For example, one or more secondposition sensing parts 1333 may be provided inside the one or moresecond coils 1332. However, a position of the secondposition sensing part 1333 is not limited thereto, and the secondposition sensing part 1333 may be provided outside thesecond coil 1332 in a rotational direction of thesecond holder 1310. - To maintain or improve performance of the
second driving part 1330, the secondreflective module 1300 may be further provided with aback yoke 1350 provided between thesecond holder 1310 and thesecond magnet 1331 to focus a magnetic field of thesecond magnet 1331. Considering that thesecond magnet 1331 has a round shape, theback yoke 1350 may have a shape corresponding to thesecond magnet 1331 or may be provided to be larger than thesecond magnet 1331. - In embodiments, an N-pole and an S-pole may be alternately magnetized on the
second magnet 1331 in the rotational direction of thesecond holder 1310. For example, thesecond magnet 1331 may be magnetized to three poles of ‘N-pole, S-pole, N-pole’ or ‘S-pole, N-pole, and S-pole’ in the rotational direction of thesecond holder 1310. - The
second coil 1332 may receive an electrical signal, including current, from a main substrate (for example, 1800 ofFIG. 5 ) provided on a sidewall of thehousing 1100. When the current is supplied to thesecond coil 1332, the current of thesecond coil 1332 and the magnetic field of thesecond magnet 1331 may electromagnetically interact with each other, so that a rotational torque may be generated to rotate thesecond holder 1310 about the second axis B1 in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. In embodiments, the secondreflective module 1300 may be provided to be rotatable about the second axis B1 (for example, the Y-axis) by more than about ±11 degrees (that is, a total of about 22 degrees). -
FIGS. 8C to 8E are diagrams illustrating a rotation of the secondreflective module 1300. As illustrated inFIGS. 8C to 8E , thesecond holder 1310 of the secondreflective module 1300 may rotate about a predetermined rotation axis (for example, the second axis ofFIG. 8A ) formed by therotation axis ball 1341 within a predetermined angle range.FIG. 8C is a diagram illustrating the case in which thesecond holder 1310 of the secondreflective module 1300 is in a neutral position,FIG. 8D is a diagram illustrating that thesecond holder 1310 of the secondreflective module 1300 rotates about a predetermined rotation axis (for example, the second axis ofFIG. 8A ) in a counterclockwise rotation, andFIG. 8E is a diagram illustrating that thesecond holder 1310 of the secondreflective module 1300 rotates about a predetermined rotation axis (for example, the second axis ofFIG. 8A ) in a clockwise direction. - As illustrated of
FIG. 8C , in acamera module 1000 including the reflective module assembly according to embodiments, a firstreflective module 1200 and a secondreflective module 1300 may be disposed on a plane (for example, an X-Z plane) to change a path of incident light twice or more. After the incident light is incident on the firstreflective module 1200, a path of the incident light may be changed through a first reflective member (1220 ofFIG. 5 ) provided in the firstreflective module 1200. The incident light may pass through a blockingmember 1400, and may then be incident on the secondreflective module 1300. The incident light, of which propagation path is changed once more in the secondreflective module 1300, may be incident on animage sensor unit 1900 after passing through alens module 1500 adjacent to the second reflective module. - As illustrated in
FIGS. 8D and 8E , a secondreflective module 1300 may rotate about a predetermined rotation axis (for example, the second axis ofFIG. 8A ) formed by arotation axis ball 1341 to correspond to an incident angle, an incident position, and the like, of incident light. For example, when an incident angle and an incident position of light incident from the firstreflective module 1200 are changed, the secondreflective module 1300 according to embodiments may rotate at a predetermined angle corresponding thereto to change a propagation direction of the light to a direction corresponding to an optical axis direction of thelens module 1500. Accordingly, light incident on a camera module from an external entity may reach theimage sensor unit 1900 by changing the propagation path in the plurality ofreflective modules - Returning to
FIG. 8A , in embodiments, a center of gravity or a geometric center of thesecond magnet 1331 may be provided in a triangle formed by thesecond ball members 1340. Thesecond holder 1310 is in close contact with thehousing 1100 with thesecond ball member 1340 interposed therebetween by attractive force between the second pullingyoke 1370 and thesecond magnet 1331, which is aimed at preventing thesecond holder 1320 from being inclined to one side. - In embodiments, a second axis B1, a rotation axis of the second
reflective module 1300, may be orthogonal to a first axis (for example, A1 ofFIG. 6 ), a rotation axis of a first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ). For example, the first axis (A1 ofFIG. 6 ) may be parallel to a Z-axis, and the second axis B1 may be parallel to a Y-axis. Accordingly, thecamera module 1000 may track a movement of a subject of interest by respectively rotating the first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ) and the secondreflective module 1300. - An internal arrangement of the
housing 1100 of thecamera module 1000 according to embodiments will be described again with reference toFIGS. 10A and 10B .FIG. 10A is a top view illustrating the inside of a housing in a state in which some components of a first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ) and a second module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ) are omitted in acamera module 1000 according to some embodiments, andFIG. 10B is a bottom view of thehousing 1100 of thecamera module 1000 according to embodiments. - As illustrated in
FIG. 10A , in embodiments, an inside of thehousing 1100 of thecamera module 1000 may be overall divided into afirst space 1101, asecond space 1102, and athird space 1103. A first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ) may be mounted in thefirst space 1101, a second reflective module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ) may be mounted in thesecond space 1102, and alens module 1500 may be mounted in thethird space 1103. Light, emitted from an external subject, may be incident on the first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ) provided in thefirst space 1101, and may then be incident on an image sensor unit (1900 ofFIG. 5 ) through the second reflective module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ) in thesecond space 1102 and thelens module 1500 in thethird space 1103. The first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ), the second reflective module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ), thelens module 1500, and the image sensor unit (1900 ofFIG. 5 ) may respectively correspond to the firstreflective modules 1200, the secondreflective module 1300, thelens module 1500, and theimage sensor unit 1900 described with reference toFIGS. 4 to 9 , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. - A first pulling
yoke 1270 and afirst support portion 1261 may be provided on an internal surface of thehousing 1100, corresponding to thefirst space 1101, to stably provide the first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ). The first pullingyoke 1270 may be provided in a position facing a first pulling magnet of the first reflective module (1200 ofFIG. 5 ), and thefirst support portion 1261 may be provided in a position facing a second support portion (1262 ofFIG. 6A ) of the firstreflective module 1200. The first pullingyoke 1270 and thefirst support portion 1261 may respectively correspond to the first pullingyoke 1270 and thefirst support portion 1261 ofFIGS. 6A to 6E , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. - A blocking
member 1400, blocking unnecessary light to reduce flare, may be provided on the internal surface of thehousing 1100 between thefirst space 1101 and thesecond space 1102. For example, incident light may pass through the blockingmember 1400, and may be more stably incident on the second reflective module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ) provided in thesecond space 1102. - A
third guide portion 1361 a and afifth guide portion 1363 a, stably providing the second reflective module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ), may be provided on the internal surface of thehousing 1100 corresponding to thesecond space 1102. Thethird guide portion 1361 a and thefifth guide portion 1363 a may respectively correspond to thethird guide portion 1361 a and thefifth guide portion 1363 a ofFIGS. 8 and 9 , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted. - The
third space 1103 may be provided to be adjacent to thesecond space 1102, and thelens module 1500 may be provided inside thehousing 1100 corresponding to thethird space 1103. Thelens module 1500 may correspond to thelens module 1500 ofFIG. 5 , and thus a duplicate description thereof will be omitted. - Referring to
FIG. 10B , a second pullingyoke 1370, opposing the second magnet (1331 ofFIG. 8A ) of the second reflective module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ), may be provided on a lower surface of thehousing 1100 according to embodiments. The secondreflective module 1300 may be in close contact with thehousing 1100 by attractive force between the second pullingyoke 1370 and asecond magnet 1331. - In the
camera module 1000 according to embodiments, the inside of thehousing 1100 may be divided into a plurality of spaces including afirst space 1101, asecond space 1102, and athird space 1103, and a single reflective module (1200 or 1300 ofFIG. 5 ) may be provided in each of the spaces. That is, in thecamera module 1000 according to embodiments, a plurality of reflective modules may be intensively in a narrow region. As a result, a significantlyminiaturized camera module 1000 which may track a moving subject may be designed. -
FIG. 11 is a reference view illustrating an overall height ofvarious camera modules 11A and 11B according to one or more embodiments. In the following description, a height of thecamera module 11A illustrated in an upper portion ofFIG. 11 will be defined as H1, and a height of the camera module 11B illustrated in a lower portion ofFIG. 11 will be defined as H2. - The
camera module 11A illustrated in the upper portion ofFIG. 11 may correspond to acamera module 11A provided with a single reflective module. After a path of incident light is changed once (for example, changed from L1 to L2), the incident light may be incident on an image sensor unit. A structure, which may rotate a reflective module in, in detail, a biaxial direction, is required to track a moving subject using a single reflective module or to effectively compensate for user hand-shake. In this case, biaxial rotation driving systems simultaneously coupled to the single reflective module should be provided to implement a rotation of the reflective module in a biaxial direction, resulting in an increase in structural complexity and an increase in overall height of the camera module. - The camera module 11B according to embodiments may be further provided with a component, which may change a path of incident light once more (that is, change the path from L4 to L5 after changing the path from L3 to L4), to have the same or further improved subject tracking effect while decreasing a height of the camera module 11B (the camera module 11B and L3, L4, and L5 may respectively correspond to the
camera module 1000, the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction described with reference toFIG. 5 , and thus duplicate descriptions thereof refer toFIG. 5 ). For example, the camera module 11B according to embodiments, includes a first driving part (for example, 1230 ofFIG. 6A ), rotating about a first axis, and a second driving part (for example, 1330 ofFIG. 8A ), rotating about a second axis, by dividing the rotation driving system. Thus, the path of the incident light may be various changed and a height (or a thickness) of the camera module 11B may be decreased. -
FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of alens module 1500 on which light, emitted from a second reflective module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ), is incident. - The
lens module 1500 may include a plurality of lenses for imaging a subject, and the plurality of lenses may be accommodated in alens holder 1510 along an optical axis. Thelens holder 1510 may be moved in an optical axis (Z-axis) direction to implement an autofocusing function or a zoom function. Athird driving part 1530 may generate driving force to move thelens holder 1510 in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction. That is, thethird driving part 1530 may move thelens holder 1510 to change a distance between thelens holder 1510 and a second reflective module (1300 ofFIG. 5 ) or a distance between thelens holder 1510 and animage sensor unit 1900. As an example, thethird driving part 1530 may include at least onethird magnet 1531, at least onethird coil 1532 disposed to face the at least onethird magnet 1531, and at least one thirdposition sensing part 1533 provided to be adjacent to thethird coil 1532. - The
third driving part 1530 may generate driving force through an electromagnetic interaction between thethird coil 1532 and thethird magnet 1531. For example, when power is applied to the at least onethird coil 1532, thelens holder 1510, on which the at least onethird magnet 1531 is mounted, may be moved in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction by an electromagnetic interaction between the at least onethird magnet 1531 and the at least onethird coil 1532. - The
third magnet 1531 may be mounted on thelens holder 1510. As an example, thethird magnet 1531 may be mounted on a side surface of thelens holder 1510. Thethird coil 1532 is mounted on thehousing 1100. As an example, a plurality ofthird coils 1532 may be mounted on thehousing 1100 while being mounted on a main substrate (for example, 1800 ofFIG. 5 ). - When the
lens holder 1510 is moved, a position of thelens holder 1510 may be sensed and feedbacked in a closed loop control manner. Therefore, the thirdposition sensing part 1533 may be used for closed-loop control. For example, the thirdposition sensing part 1533 may be a Hall sensor. The thirdposition sensing part 1533 is disposed inside or outside at least one of thethird coils 1532, and the thirdposition sensing part 1533 may be mounted on the main substrate on which thethird coil 1532 is mounted. - The
lens holder 1510 may be provided in thehousing 1100 to move in an optical axis (for example, Z-axis) direction. For example, at least onethird ball member 1540 may be disposed between thelens holder 1510 and thehousing 1100. Thethird ball member 1540 may serve as a bearing to guide a movement of thelens holder 1510. In addition, thethird ball member 1540 may also serve to maintain a gap between thelens holder 1510 and thehousing 1100. Thethird ball member 1540 may move in a rolling motion or a sliding motion in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction to guide the movement of thelens holder 1510. Aseventh guide portion 1561, accommodating thethird ball member 1540, may be provided on at least one surface, among surfaces on which thelens holder 1510 and thehousing 1100 face each other. Thethird ball member 1540 may be accommodated in theseventh guide portion 1561 to move in a sliding motion along a shape of the seventh guide portion. In embodiments, theseventh guide portion 1561 may have a shape having a length in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction. In this case, the movement of thethird ball member 1540 may be limited in the other axes (X-axis and Y-axis) directions, perpendicular to the optical axis (Z-axis) direction, and permitted in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction while thethird ball member 1540 is accommodated in theseventh guide portion 1561. In embodiments, a cross-section of theseventh guide portion 1561 may have various shapes such as a curved shape, a polygonal shape, or the like. - The
lens holder 1510 may be pressed toward thehousing 1100 such that thethird ball member 1540 may be maintained in a state of contact with thelens holder 1510 and thehousing 1100. To this end, a third pulling yoke (not illustrated) may be mounted on a bottom surface of thehousing 1100 to face thethird magnet 1531 mounted on thelens holder 1510. The third pulling yoke (not illustrated) may be a magnetic material. Attractive force may act between the third pulling yoke (not illustrated) and thethird magnet 1531. Accordingly, thelens holder 1510 may be moved in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction by the driving force of thethird driving part 1530 while being in contact with thethird ball member 1540. - The
lens holder 1510 may be supported on thehousing 1100 by the attractive force between the third pulling yoke (not illustrated) and thethird magnet 1531, but thelens holder 1510 may be removed by external force such as external impact to collide with other members inside thehousing 1100. Accordingly, in embodiments, a thirdauxiliary member 1570 may be provided to prevent thelens holder 1510 from moving outside a position thereof and to absorb an impact even when shake occurs due to external force. For example, the thirdauxiliary member 1570 may be provided to have a ‘C’ shape, and both ends of the thirdauxiliary member 1570 may be fitted and fixed to thehousing 1100 to cover thelens holder 1510 from above. The thirdauxiliary member 1570 may further include a damping member formed of an elastic material and provided in various portions to absorb impact. For example, a front or rear end portion in the optical axis direction may be in contact with the thirdauxiliary member 1570 during a movement of thelens holder 1510 in the optical axis direction. In this case, dampers may be provided on both end portions of the thirdauxiliary member 1570 to absorb the impact. In embodiments, two thirdauxiliary members 1570 may be provided to be respectively installed on both sides of thelens holder 1510. Since the thirdauxiliary member 1570 serves as a stopper or a damper, thelens holder 1510 may be stably driven in the optical axis (Z-axis) direction. Accordingly, thelens module 1500 may perform an autofocusing function or a zoom function. - As described herein, a camera module according to embodiments and a portable electronic device including the same may have a simple structure and may be easily driven while implementing functions such as autofocusing, zoom, shake correction, PIP, and tracking functions.
- According to the camera module according to embodiments and the portable electronic device including the same, a path of incident light may be variously changed and a height (or a thickness) of the camera module may be decreased.
- While specific examples have been illustrated and described above, it will be apparent after gaining an understanding of this disclosure that various changes in form and details may be made in these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims and their equivalents. The examples described herein are to be considered in a descriptive sense only, and are not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects in each example are to be considered as being applicable to similar features or aspects in other examples. Suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order, and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner, and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the disclosure is defined not by the detailed description, but by the claims and their equivalents, and all variations within the scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included in the disclosure.
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KR10-2021-0039059 | 2021-03-25 | ||
KR1020210039059A KR102494334B1 (en) | 2020-12-28 | 2021-03-25 | Reflective module assembly and camera module including the same |
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US11889172B2 (en) | 2024-01-30 |
CN217157057U (en) | 2022-08-09 |
CN114755874A (en) | 2022-07-15 |
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